


The Dark Knight(mare) of Gotham City

by Rogu3p1rate26



Series: Gotham Vampire AU [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Arthur Brown is a douche, Arthur calls Stephanie names, Arthur dies, Ballroom Dancing, Bisexual relations, Bruce almost turns into a ghoul, Canon-Typical Violence, Crappy Make-out Scene, Crappy Sex-scene, Creepy kids, Curses at her, Ducra is a badass, Ducra is awesome, F/M, Gen, Graphic Description, HE IS, Hood almost burns off Sionis's face, I swear I'm not trying to offend anyone, James Gordon Jr is a psychopath, Jason apologizes to Dick and Bruce, Magic, Main character was raped as a child, Make-out scene, Mentions of Homosexuality, Mentions of Rape, Mentions of Sex, Mentions of Violence, Minor Character Death, Minor character dies, Minor character hits on main character as a child, Non-Graphic Violence towards animals, Not in a bad way I promise, Of a car, Parental Deaths, Psychic Abilities, Psychic dream sex, Rating did go up, Rating may go up next chapter, Sex-scene, Shooting, Stabbing, Stephanie almost turns into a ghoul, Stephanie gives up her baby, Teenage prenancy, Temporarily paralyzed character, That's where the Rape/Non-Con comes from, There's no rape in the actual story, Two main characters start to make out, Underage Sex, Underage Smoking, Vaginal Fingering, Vampire Turning, Vampires, Vandalism, Werewolves, and it happened in the past, chapter ends in a cliffhanger, cursing, forgot to mention there's some nipple play too, goofing off, graphic descriptions of beating, handjob, it's only mentioned, mentions of beating, mentions of torture, of violence, parental abandonment, please read the an's in the beginning, seriously, shit has hit the fan, shit's about to hit the fan, so please be warned, sorry it sucks, spousal abuse, temporary insanity, the werewolves in this story are assholes, the werewolves want to rape her, this is my first sex scene, verbal parental abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-30 11:38:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 125,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3935386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogu3p1rate26/pseuds/Rogu3p1rate26
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Bruce & his ‘bat-family’ are really vampires. Stephanie Brown just stumbled into a rather dark secret. Only time will tell if she survives.<br/>(New chapter is posted, will be editing the previous chapters for the next week or so. I'm sorry about the confusion. Thank you for the patience.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Bruce's Memory

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not really sure why I started this fanfic, especially since I’m way too lazy to finish my other stories. But, I’ve always been fascinated with vampires, and since there have actually been stories (Elsworld or otherwise) about Batman being a real vampire, I just figured ‘what the heck?’ The story started out as being from Stephanie’s point of view, but as I thought of this story, I realized I needed to add Bruce’s backstory as well as Dick’s, Barbara’s & Jason’s.
> 
> This story is based off of three ‘what-if’s’ I had about the ‘Bat-Family’. 1. What-if the reason Bruce feels so strongly about guns and not killing, is because he accidently killed the man who murdered his family, and it left him feeling extremely guilty? 2. What-if Stephanie met & befriended the Wayne family & found out there secrets before she met Robin (Tim Drake)? Would she have instead fallen in love with Jason? 3. What-if Bruce was really over a hundred years old since he is a vampire? As for the ‘vampire bit’, I plan on mixing a few different abilities and weaknesses into the mix, so please bear with me.
> 
> Just to warn you all now, my knowledge of ‘Batman’ is based off of the ‘Young Justice’ series and a few assorted comic books. As such, this is going to be extremely AU, so I’m apologizing in advance. Also, I’m not known for updating quickly (if at all), but I’ll try to do better, at least until I finish Stephanie’s part. Thank you for your time, and I hope you like my story.
> 
> Also, I've posted this fanfic on ff.net as well under the author name 'Animefreak99-06'.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten. I just had the thought for the fanfic that is all.

Prologue: Bruce’s Memory

He could almost feel the dirt burying him as he tried to dig his way out of the wooden box that held him. Only, the chains that had been wrapped tightly around him beforehand prevented him from doing so. He could hear the chanting inside his head, and although he couldn’t speak the language, he did understand the chanting was to calm him down.

‘You witch, when I get out of these chains, you’ll be the first one I kill, I swear it.’ He thought as he attempted once again to move in the coffin. Another jolt of pain through his body had him pinned against the bottom of the coffin, as he tried not to cry out in pain once again. Once the pain ended, he tried to catch his breath, only to find that his breathing had slowed down far more than it should have under the circumstances. An older feminine voice broke through his thoughts then.

‘I warned you not to thirst for vengeance and bloodshed in your misguided quest. I warned you that killing the man responsible for the murders of your parents would come at a great price. I warned you weeks ago that your obsession would set you down a path of destruction that would consume you down to your very core. But you didn’t listen, did you Mr. Wayne? And so, I have taken matters into my own hands, if only to help you find some manner of peace. Granted, the peace will only come after you have accepted that you should have tried to at least found someone to spend the rest of your life with.’

‘Witch, this is all your fault.’ He paused in his tirade as another wave of pain passed through him. This time he felt the pain linger on the incisors inside his mouth and pulse in time with his ever slowing heartbeat. He could feel as his incisors slowly lengthen around the small wooden strip that had been placed in his mouth before this ‘ceremony’ had started. ‘You were the one who said the creatures of the ‘dark’ where no longer human, and shouldn’t be tampered with. So then why did you do this? What reason do you have to justify this?’

‘The truth Mr. Wayne, is that when I read your future when I first met you, I saw you heading down such a dark path, that you would eventually have become a vampire, who bathed in the blood of your victims. I saw that you would have lost your soul in order to become the creature necessary to gain ‘justice’ against your enemies, and would have been the cause of so many more orphans. And, as I saw this future that might come, I saw that there was still hope for you then. Do you understand now?’  
Bruce stilled as he heard her say that he would have become the very thing he despised most of all. A murderer, one who would have been the cause of numerous orphaned children. It took him all of a moment to realize what she had meant about that. He would have hunted down any murderers and killed them on the spot. But in truth, not everyone who had killed someone had done it out of spite or on purpose. He would have been the reason for so many orphans because he would have killed their parents, because they had killed someone else. He relaxed his tense body as he realized, she was right.

‘Of course I’m right in this matter, Mr. Wayne. I would not inflict this pain, this curse on someone, just to see them suffer. I’m doing this to help you see, that there is more to this than you can truly understand.’ Bruce rolled his eyes at the thought.

‘You say you don’t want to inflict suffering, but all I’ve been feeling since this started is pain. You say that this is to teach me a lesson. Which lesson is that? 'If you want vengeance, you’ll be forced to becoming a vampire'? One of the vilest creatures of the night there is? What are you trying to teach me?’ he paused as yet another wave of pain passed through him, this time causing his heart to stutter and constrict painfully. He heard an inelegant snort.

‘The lesson I’m teaching you is ‘don’t mess with things that aren’t to be messed with.’ In other words Mr. Wayne, you shouldn’t have stuck your nose where it didn’t belong.’ She paused in her speech, almost as if she sensed he was reaching the end of his awareness. ‘It will be over soon Mr. Wayne. I have my reasons for doing this, but the main reason why I’m doing this to you? Because I sensed you still have a good heart deep down under the anger, bitterness and desire for vengeance.

‘I still believe you have a strong sense of justice that if nurtured, can become a force to be reckoned with. Just remember Mr. Wayne, don’t seek someone’s death. Seek only for the truth, with all of your heart. A heart, that even now still causes you pain when you remember that you accidently killed the man that killed your parents. I know you have strong morals and a good heart, but don’t let your anger cloud what must be done. After this night you must, no, you will become a force of good, I know it.’ He knew it was a matter of time before he finished the change, so he asked quickly before his body shut down completely,

‘How can you believe in me after everything I’ve done and said to you and your people? How can you still believe in me when I’ve given up on myself?’ He felt one last wave of pain as everything began to fade out as he heard her mental reply.

‘Because I know these things. Just as I know that by turning you as we are doing, will prevent you from losing your soul and becoming truly damned. I know the journey will be a long one, but this way you still have a chance at happiness. Now rest and try to get some sleep Mr. Wayne. We have a lot to teach you when you wake up.’  
And then every fiber of his being was consumed in pain.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Bruce jolted awake deep in the cave hidden under his family’s manor. It had been a long time since he had had that particular dream, but it never failed to shake him to his very core. He took a few calming breaths as he tried to center his thoughts and regulate his breathing. It didn’t take very long, as he rarely needed to slow his breathing or his heart rate, although it was a human thing to do. He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his neck, as his internal clock told him it was still a couple of hours til sunset. Oh well, maybe he could talk to Edmund about what needed to be fixed around the manor after the wind storm had struck the night before.

As he got from where he had been half buried in soil, he had a sudden sense of foreboding. The dream (or memory) had somehow awakened within him a warning that something was going to happen tonight. Not surprising really, after all, this is Gotham City. But as he climbed the stairs to the cellar of the manor, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. He thought he should tell Edmund, and go straight onto patrol tonight instead of taking the night off as he had planned. Edmund, on the other hand told him to go out this one night and try to have some fun.

Four hours later, he stood outside of the park that proudly displayed the banner, “Haly’s Circus”.


	2. Chapter 1: Stephanie meets the Manor and Jarvis (And they both like her)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So excited about this story, even though I’m warning you now, this story jumps around time wise. This is meant to be told about Stephanie Brown, so the back stories of Bruce, Dick, Barbara & Jason will be told to her by the characters themselves. 
> 
> Again, just a warning, I don’t have an extended knowledge of the characters. The only things I know are what I’ve seen from ‘Young Justice’ and assorted comics. Anything else I add comes from Wikipedia. I know Stephanie’s part in Young Justice amounted to her needing to be rescued by the team, but as I looked up information on certain characters, I was impressed by her background in the Batman comics.
> 
> Anyway, the prologue was the only chapter told entirely from someone else’s point of view. Since this story is told from Stephanie’s p.o.v., it’ll take some time to get to everyone else’s past. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten. I just had the thought for the fanfic that is all.

Chapter 1: Stephanie meets the Manor and Jarvis (And they both like her)

 

It was days like this that she felt as if the world was against her. Sure she tried to keep a sunny disposition, and stay cheerful. But some days, she felt so lonely and depressed. It was days like this that she cursed her deceased father Arthur Brown and wished he had just kept his narcissistic attitude to himself instead of stealing. And then had been the loans from the mob. Really? What had he been thinking?

She sighed, as she leaned against her stalled 1956 Packard Caribbean. She knew she needed to get away from Gotham, and especially to get away from the Falcone family. She knew if she could get away from Carmine Falcone, she might stand a chance of living to see her nineteenth birthday, let alone her twentieth and so on. So it stood to reason that two miles away from the interstate that would guarantee her freedom, that her car (formerly her dad’s) would stall and leave her stranded two miles away from freedom. And it looked like storm clouds were approaching from the west. Great, just what she needed.

She stood next to her car for another couple of minutes while mentally reaming her father out on his stupidity. She looked down the road as it came around a curve, looked back under the hood of the car, and mentally started reaming herself out too. Sighing again, she eased the hood back down and started to walk down the road to at least see what was around the curve. If there were any homes out this far, she would ask if she could stay the night and call a mechanic to see if one would come in the morning. She didn’t have much money left, but she would offer as much as she could to whoever let her spend the night. Or she could offer to do chores, maybe that would do it. As caught up in her thoughts as she was, she didn’t see the small dip in the road until she tripped.

Now she knew the world was against her, because she had almost twisted one of her ankles and had ruined the only good pair of shoes she had left. Sighing once again, she took her heels off and carried them with her as she continued down the road. After coming to the curve, she looked back to her car, dismayed that she hadn’t gone more than 50 yards away. She turned back around and walked a few feet further down the road when she saw it. A driveway, that led to a wrought-iron gate. It took her a few seconds to realize there were two roads, the first leading a long distance up to a house on the hill. The second, she realized, lead to the interstate.

She stood there routed to the spot for a few minutes more, before she realized, the ‘house’ was no house, it was a manor. And the only manor located this far from the hubbub of Gotham City was the old Wayne Manor. A chill ran down her spine as she eyed the gate. Her mother, a fairly religious woman, had always warned her not to go anywhere near the Wayne Manor. She had been told that anyone who entered there was never heard from alive again, because their souls became trapped there for all time. 

Even so, she knew she had to take her chances. Maybe if she showed proper respect and that she really had no other options, the haunted manor would let her take shelter there for the night. Maybe, she could just take refuge in one of the many smaller buildings on the property. She hazarded a glance back the way she came from, and thought, ‘maybe I’ll just see if they have a telephone and call the mechanic in the morning. I’ll just sleep in the car tonight.’ Nodding to herself at her decision, she turned to go back to the car, only to stop in her tracks as she heard a loud, nerve-grating creak.

She slowly turned back to the iron gate, and saw that it had started to open, seemingly on its own. More than slightly freaked out, she slowly back away and eased her way back to her car. Once she was around the curve she heard the same loud squeak and took off running towards her car. Once she got to the car, she wasted no time getting in and slamming the door behind her. She sat there, her heart pounding loudly and painfully in her chest for a few minutes as she attempted to get her breathing under control. She fought down the urge to panic as she slowly breathed in and then out. After getting her breathing back to normal, she looked around the car and laughed at herself.

“Way to go Steph, you’re scared of a little wind.” Still laughing to herself, she realized, there hadn’t been any wind. Beginning to panic again, she startled when there was a sudden gust of wind that rocked the car. Looking behind her, she saw the storm clouds were moving in faster, and thought about whether it was a good idea to sleep in the car after all. A few minutes of indecision was abruptly ended when she heard the first clap of thunder a few miles away. “Okay, there’s nothing for it. I’m gonna have to go to the manor whether I want to or not.”

Gathering her courage, she hastily got back out of the car and went to the trunk to grab her suitcases. When she saw she was still carrying her heels, she opened the smaller of her two suitcases and jammed them in. She picked them out of the trunk and slammed the lid shut. She grabbed her coat from the inside of the car, put it back on over her dress and picked her suitcases up. Shutting the driver side door with her foot, she squared her shoulders and braced herself for what she thought might be the last night of her life.

She walked back towards the gate, only to find it had indeed shut after she had run. She put her suitcases down, and attempted to fix her hair from where it had fallen down earlier. She barely touched the gate, when a jolt of electricity (she supposed, she hadn’t been shocked before) and her mother’s warning once more played in her mind. Deciding she was gonna take her chances with the storm in her car, she grabbed her suitcases one last time and started to walk back to the car. She heard the gate start to creak again and this time she turned to see it had opened a small crack. Something told her to run away from the gate, but somewhere deep inside her something else told her, this would lead her to her destiny.

Shaking her head to gather her courage once more, she reached out a hand to touch the gate, only to get a sense of, humor? As if the gate was alive or sentient and thought she was being ridiculous.

“Alright, you silly girl, it’s just a gate. How can it be amused? Just go in and get this over with.” She pushed a little more and was rewarded with the gate opening enough to permit her in. As she walked through the gate, she felt a sense of foreboding. Like someone was watching every move she made. Someone very dangerous, who didn’t want her on the property. A loud creak and slam had her jumping and turning around so fast she almost made herself dizzy. The gate had closed behind her. Suddenly she felt as if she had become a prisoner and she couldn’t escape. She turned again and headed up the path to the front door.

As she made her way to the door, she was surprised to see lights on in the manor. She took a quick around and saw that there were power lines. And a telephone pole. ‘Yes, I can call out from here and get a mechanic.’ She started to feel a bit silly about getting so worked up over noting. She saw someone moving around in the foyer area and mentally slapped herself. If there were lights in the manor and they were on, then of course there would be someone living here.

‘I wonder why everyone thinks no one lives here then.’ She thought as she walked the last few feet to the front door. As she walked up the steps, she realized her feet were hurting and thought it was because she had been walking barefoot for quite some distance. Once she stood at the top of the steps, she placed her suitcases down beside her, shook her hair one last time in an effort to look halfway decent and grabbed the large brass knocker. ‘A bat? How unusual.’ She knocked three times to make sure whoever was inside heard her.

She didn’t have to wait long. The door opened to reveal a rather tall man with a short mustache looking somewhat surprised. When he saw her, he quickly composed himself.

“Hello, Madam. How might I be of assistance this evening?” His accent said British. Still somewhat surprised to see a living, breathing man, she almost didn’t reply.

“Oh, I’m very sorry to bother you, sir. It’s just that my car stalled a short distance from here. And I was wondering if I might be able to borrow your telephone to call a mechanic?” she stated as politely as she possibly could. He glanced at her somewhat surprised, and quickly looked down at her suitcases before looking back at her. She felt slightly guilty for not mentioning her suitcases. “Well, I also wanted to know, if it was possible if I could spend the night? If not, that’s alright; I can sleep in my car.”

The British gentleman, who she now noticed was wearing a nice suit, looked somewhat distraught? He schooled his appearance and asked her instead.

“Madam, I would be most delighted to lead you to the telephone. But, if I may ask, how did you get inside the gate?” ‘What type of ridiculous question is that? Somewhat annoyed, but trying to maintain her politeness, she replied.

“I came in through the front gate of course.” And, was it her imagination, or did he look slightly green at that? His seeming paranoia quickly turned to shock, which quickly turned into a small smile. 

“My apologizes, Madam. However the front gate has been locked for some time now. The only way inside is through the side gate over there.” He pointed to his right, and showed that there is indeed a gate to the side. “Never the less, please forgive my rude manners, and follow me inside, Madam.” And he lead her through the entrance way. She glanced back and saw that he was staring at the front gate with a look of shock. As she was about to say thank you, her stomach decided it needed food, and gurgled rather loudly.

“I’m very sorry about that sir. I guess I was in such a rush to leave Gotham City, that I didn’t eat anything all day.” At that, the British gentleman started, somewhat scandalized.

“Good gracious, Madam. Why did you do such a thing? One mustn't go all day without eating. Follow me please. I shall fix you up a splendid dinner. The telephone is just this way.” He paused and realizing she was carrying her suitcases, tutted loudly, taking them from her hands. 

“Madam, do forgive my manners. Master Wayne is often gone away on business trips, and ashamed as I am to say it, I have become rather lax about my duties as butler of the manor. Master Wayne doesn’t like to have many uninvited persons in the manor when he is away, but I am quite certain that he wouldn’t be against you spending the night, Miss.?” So he was a butler, that’s what she thought.

“Oh, please, don’t call me madam, it sounds strange. My name is Stephanie Nicole Brown. You can just call me Stephanie, sir” that must have amused the butler, because he began to smile.

“It’s not ‘sir’, Miss Stephanie. My name is Jarvis. Jarvis Malcolm Pennyworth. And it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now the telephone is through the door on the right.” He said as he pointed down a hallway that led to the left. “And the kitchen is through the door on the left. I’ll just set these right here, and fix you dinner, and then I’ll see you to a guestroom.”

“That’s very kind of you Mr. Pennyworth, but I don’t want to get you in trouble with your boss.” She turned to go toward the door which lead to the telephone. She picked up the phone and heard the switchboard operator ask who she wanted to call. After saying she needed to speak to a mechanic, she waited a minute until the phone started ringing. She explained who and where she was and explained what had happened to her car. The mechanic said he wouldn’t be able to get there that night because of the big storm approaching, but would be there first thing tomorrow.

She thanked him and hung up the telephone. She turned and walked towards the kitchen and saw Jarvis fixing what looked like a stew.

“Miss Stephanie, the stew is almost ready, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes. Please sit down at the counter, if you’d like. What would you like to drink? We have, milk, orange juice, fresh-made sweet tea, water or if you prefer, we have spirits.” She shook her viciously at the mere mention of alcohol.

“No thank you Jarvis. I’m not old enough to drink, and I’d prefer not to anyway. I’ll take some tea if that’s alright.”

“Tea it is Miss. Stephanie. Slice of lemon on the side?” She nodded her head. “Anything else?”

“No thank you Mr. Pennyworth, this is fine.” She sat down at the counter and watched as he carefully poured her tea into a glass and carefully pulled a lemon from a bowl on the counter. She watched as he cut the lemon in two and cut a round slice off. A sudden loud thunderclap had her jump and turn behind her to look out the window. She felt extremely ridiculous for being so jumpy; after all it was just a storm. She shook her head again before returning to look at Jarvis. He was carrying her tea over to her, and placed her tea right in front of her.

“Don’t worry Miss. Stephanie, the storm should pass through rather quickly. So there is no need to fret.” He quirked his head to the side before he asked. “Miss. Stephanie, do forgive me if I seem rude, but, are you quite alright? You look rather tired and pale.” She lowered her head, to attempt to avoid his clear gaze.

“It’s nothing too serious, Mr. Pennyworth. I’m just recovering from a cold. I’m fine, other than being tired. I promise I’m alright.” She lifted her head to see Jarvis looking at her with a look of sympathy. 

“Very well, Miss. Stephanie. However, after dinner, I must insist that you retire for the evening once you have settled in to the guestroom. I have just aired out a number of rooms today, and I believe I know the room that you should spend the night in.” He turned and walked back to the stove. Stephanie shook her head quickly, before replying.

“Mr. Pennyworth, please there’s no need for such a fuss. I’ll be content with any room you will let me stay in. I’m going to be leaving tomorrow afternoon, so there’s reason for you to dote on me this much. Trust me, I truly appreciate you letting me spend the night.” She looked away as she felt her cheeks warm up. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you and Mr. Wayne’s kindness. I don’t have much money, but I’d like to be able to do something in return.”

Jarvis moved to remove a bowl from the cupboard. He turned to her again and simply asked,  
“Would you like some bread or crackers with your stew?” Stephanie shook her head, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like anything else to eat? It’s no trouble at all.”

“No Mr. Pennyworth, I’m certain that I don’t want anything else. The stew smells so good; I know I won’t need anything else. But thank you just the same.” Jarvis nodded and moved back to the stove. He dipped a rather good portion into the bowl before retrieving a spoon and carrying it to the counter. “Aren’t you going to eat too, Mr. Pennyworth?”

“I will eat later this evening. I still have to tidy Master Wayne’s study. There is no need to worry about me, Miss. Stephanie. And, please, you may call me Jarvis. As for repaying Master Wayne, he is a billionaire. There is no need to worry about repaying him, he certainly won’t mind.” She chuckled as she started to eat.

“If you insist. Wow, this stew is delicious, Mr., I mean Jarvis. I’m not much of a cook, but I wish I could cook like this. Thank you for taking such good care of me.” She stopped talking to continue eating. Jarvis chuckled.

“The truth, Miss. Stephanie, is that when Master Wayne and his son aren’t here, there aren’t many people for me to speak too. I hadn’t realized I missed socializing this much. Nevertheless, perhaps after you finish eating, you should head straight to bed. Or if you’d prefer, I could draw you a bath if you decide you want to freshen up before you go to bed. You should get as much sleep as you can so you are well rested tomorrow.” Stephanie, who had been eating while Jarvis spoke, stopped when he mentioned the bath. She really could use a bath.

“That’s not necessary for you to have to draw me a bath. Umm, do the bathrooms in the manor have showers? If it’s alright, I’d like to take a shower before bed.”

“All of the bathrooms do indeed have showers and bathtubs. Now once you’re finished eating, I’ll show you to your room. And, it’s no trouble at all, Miss Stephanie.”


	3. Chapter 2: Master of the Manor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, before someone says anything, I don’t have a good grasp on everyone’s personalities. That being said, this story is AU and takes place during the mid-60’s, so some things are definitely going to be different. I swear I’m not making Stephanie be rude, I think she’s one of the kindest people in the franchise. But she’s going through a rough patch due to being on the run. She’ll get better and more cheerful, it’s just gonna take some time.
> 
> This chapter starts out with Bruce, then end with Stephanie.
> 
> Anyway, thank you once again for reading my story, I really appreciate it. See you later.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten. I just had the thought for the fanfic that is all.

Chapter 2: Master of the Manor

 

To say that Bruce Wayne was furious would be an understatement. He had been underground all day, as was common for him, when he sensed the young woman approach the manor. He was a bit surprised that she approached the front gate, since the only ones who were able to actually see it were the members of the Wayne and Pennyworth families. Granted, the gate that encircled the manor grounds was protected by a spell to prevent enemies from entering or gaining access inside. So the fact that she had, not only seen the front entrance, it had opened for her, twice at that, spoke volumes about her fate at the hands of the Wayne family. No, Bruce was furious because he had believed the barrier surrounding the manor would not need to add to the number of family members.

He was also furious because the young woman, whose car had stalled out, had had the audacity to call a mechanic. And that she thought that she would be able to leave the grounds the next day. Although, as he forced himself to calm down, she obviously didn’t know about the spell protecting the manor, nor did she know the truth about the seemingly ‘haunted manor’. Either way, he needed to speak with Jarvis and see if he would be able to fix some of this mess before it was time for patrol. He waited until Jarvis showed her one of the nicer guestrooms in the east wing, before he came upstairs. He could hear Jarvis talking to the young woman Stephanie, her name is Stephanie, and then showed her the bathroom across the hallway.

All of this having happened after the storm had passed them by. Jarvis returned downstairs as Bruce heard the showerhead turn on. He waited until Jarvis returned to the kitchen and saw him before he spoke.

“Where did she say her car was? I need to bring it in if I can, to work on it. I’ll have to call the mechanic back to tell him he isn’t needed.” Jarvis looked him in the eye before he replied.

“Are you certain of this, Master Bruce? Is she supposed to become one of the family? Miss. Stephanie doesn’t know about the manor’s history. She believes she will be able to leave tomorrow and be about her way.”

“Yes Jarvis, I am certain. I really don’t like this at all. But the spell protecting the manor has never had a false positive before. If she saw the front gate, it means she was meant to be here. As for tomorrow, just tell her the truth, that I came home late and called the mechanic back to tell him that his services were no longer needed. Just tell her that I wanted to see her, but fell asleep before she woke up. I’d like to meet her tomorrow night after she gets settled.”

“Master Bruce, surely you can meet her tonight.” Bruce shook his head before he answered.

“Jarvis, how will it seem if I meet her now? I’m going to wait until tomorrow night to meet her. Since it’s still fairly early now, I’m going to stay hidden until she falls asleep. It’s faint but, I can tell that she’s ill. Maybe just recuperating, but she needs to rest. So just act as if I’m not here until tomorrow, alright?”

“Of course, Master Bruce. I believe she said that her car was a short distance before the curve.” He paused as he watched Bruce walk to the side door. “Is she that ill, sir? She said that she was getting over a cold.” Bruce paused on his way to the door. He turned back to Jarvis.

“She was sicker than that. I’m not sure what she had, but I can tell it wasn’t fatal. ” He stopped speaking when he heard the water shut off. He looked up, before continuing. “Jarvis, it doesn’t matter what you tell her to keep her here. I can tell she’s uncomfortable being here, but either way, she’s going to be here a while.”

“Very well, sir. I’ll tell her first thing in the morning that you wish to meet her.” Bruce looked at his long-time friend, grateful that Jarvis had decided to stay all those years ago.

“Thank you Jarvis. For everything, not just for speaking with this young woman. Thank you for helping me for all this time. I don’t say it often enough, but I truly appreciate it.” And with that, he walked out the door. He didn’t see Jarvis smile, however he did hear him reply,

“But of course, Master Bruce. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Bruce hurried through the side entrance and out to the main road. Stephanie didn’t see that there was a smaller road that branched off of the road that led to the interstate, which lead to the side of the Wayne Manor. Bruce made it to the end of the road and cautiously looked all around to make certain that there weren’t any unwanted observers watching him. Seeing none, he moved in the blink of an eye to the car. He walked around once to check everything over, then opened the driver-side door. He eased into the Packard and noticing the keys were still in the ignition, turned the switch. The car gave a small half-hearted grunt, and then there was nothing. 

Bruce tried once more, this time pushing on the gas and was rewarded with a slightly longer and healthier grunt, before it stopped again. He got out of the car and came around to the front of the car. Opening the hood, he wasn’t surprised to see everything looked to be in place. He took a better look, checking the battery connections, sparkplugs and engine, not finding anything wrong. He walked to the gas tank and opened it, already suspecting what was the problem. He checked the tank and then knelt down under the car to check that it wasn’t a leak.

Not finding anything, he got back into the car and once more turned the ignition. This time he let his heightened sense of hearing check for the sounds he knew would give away the problem. Not hearing what he knew should be there, he nodded his head once. A faulty fuel pump, which was what had caused the car to stall. Now he just had to get the car back to the manor. He looked at the watch he wore for appearances. He still had a few hours before patrol anyway.

 

It was only an hour before he left to go onto patrol, when he heard her walking from the guestroom into the bathroom. Jarvis had taken notice when he saw Bruce’s head look in the direction of her room. Jarvis looked a little worried.

“Master Bruce, are you truly going to compel her to speak to you? If you believe she needs her rest, this could cause her undue mental stress.” Bruce got up from his desk in the study and strode towards the closed doorway. He answered as he walked.

“Of course I am Jarvis. Normally I would let her rest, but the note I found in her car showed she is on the run from the Falcone family. I want, no need to know why. How is she involved? Why is she running? This could be a big break in the sting I set up with the GCPD.” He opened the door looking outwardly furious. He stood in the hall and waited until she came out of the bathroom, and before she noticed his presence, he mentally forced her to stop. 

‘Stephanie Nicole Brown, you will heed my command and not fight me.’ He felt her try to fight her way out of his mental compulsion, but he held tightly to her consciousness. ‘I command you to turn around and answer my questions. You cannot defy me, as I am the master of this manor.’ She trembled, still attempting to fight. He felt something deep inside him soften then.

‘Stephanie, the less you fight me, the less pain you will feel. I will make this as painless as I can, if you just tell me what I want to know. The sooner you comply, the sooner you can return to bed.’ She made to continue fighting, before she calmed down and turned to face him. Her eyes having gone from sky blue to indigo with inky black swirls in the edges. He sighed sadly, before pushing all emotion back down. Bruce was somewhat proud she had fought as hard as she had, but now he was all business.

“I’ll only ask my questions once, if you lie to me, I will force you to tell me the truth. Do you understand the situation you find yourself in?” He paused to watch her carefully. She swallowed once, somewhat afraid ‘Goodness, she’s a latent psychic, that’s how she can fight me.’ Then seeming to sense he was telling the truth, even through the fog in her mind, she nodded her head.

“Good. Now, what is your name and how old are you? Truthfully now.” She made to look away from his red gaze, “Look at me when you answer.” She whipped her gaze back to his. Swallowed again before replying.

“You’ve already said my name.” Bruce felt his eyes narrow at her brazenness, and felt her consciousness waver momentarily. “If you must know, my name is Stephanie. And I am 18 years old.” He raised an eyebrow at the answer.

“Stephanie, I want to hear you say you’re full name aloud.” Her face became panicked and she looked as if she would cry.

“Please sir, my mother told me not to say my full name to strangers with beautiful entrancing voices. She said they would be able to enslave a person, body and soul, just by knowing your name.” Bruce saw her eyes become shiny and realized that he was pushing her too far. Besides, he already knew her name, and that wasn’t what he wanted to know. 

“Your mother is correct in that matter, Miss Brown.” He heaved another sigh, “Very well, I won’t ask for you name again, but I want the truth to my questions, alright?” She heaved a sigh of relief, and visibly relaxed on the spot. “How did you happen on this manor?” She seemed to be deciding what to tell him.

“In truth, I was on my way out of Gotham this evening, when my car stalled. I wanted to leave, to…” she trailed off. Bruce stood there in front of her, crossing his arms. “I wanted a change in scenery, and thought I would go to the country for a bit. Maybe find a job in a city on the way, that sort of thing.” She’s lying. Bruce shook his head.

“I said I wanted the truth, Miss. Brown. You were telling the truth, up to why you wanted to leave. Then you lied to me.” Bruce glared at her, and saw her raise her hand to her temple. “The truth, if you will, Miss. Brown.” She winced.

“Alright, I really did want to get out of Gotham. But, the truth is that I wanted to get away from Carmine Falcone and his cronies.” Bruce nodded and eased up on the anger he pushed onto her mind. She stopped rubbing her temple then. “My, my father, Arthur Brown was a, shall we say an opportunist? When he was younger, he scammed people into giving him there money. When he got caught, he was offered a deal with Falconi.

“Falconi got my father to steal from banks, jewelry stores, and the like. Falconi would help my father stay out of prison, and dad would pay him an extraordinary amount of ‘protection fee’. Eventually, he got cocky and started leaving clues to his next move, his whereabouts, everything like that.” She paused here, and Bruce felt his eyebrows rise slightly. Her father is Cluemaster. “Eventually, he got busted by the ‘Batman’, and was sentenced to Blackgate. I was eight then.

“When he returned home a few years ago Falcone was furious, but told my dad that he would leave him alone, provided he didn’t mention his name ever again. Dad agreed and went about looking for work. He was hired fairly quickly because of his intelligence, but was fired just as quickly for his arrogance. He tried so many different jobs, but always got fired for not wanting to work with ‘so many lowlifes, who aren’t worthy to lick the dirt on my shoes’. So after a while, he turned to Falcone again to make ends meet. Falcone agreed to help dad, but this time, to loan dad the money. Dad was angry, but agreed when mom and I were threatened.”  
Bruce cleared his throat to get her to stop momentarily. He gave her a small smile to try and comfort her. 

“What happened then, Miss. Brown?” Stephanie made a small sniffling sound, before rubbing her eyes. Bruce wasn’t worried about breaking the compulsion. He was more concerned about Stephanie and her mom. Just where are her parents now?

“After borrowing the money, he began to use it to plan more heists. After he came back, he claimed to be cured of his desire to steal. In truth, he was only cured of his want to leave clues. Falcone was only interested in the money my dad owed him. The more times he was arrested, the more money he owed Falcone. Until last fall, when my father ‘seemingly’ died in the accident that killed my mother.” Tears slid down her face now. 

“What happened after he ‘seemingly’ died?” Bruce had investigated the accident she spoke of. He had been suspicious of the condition of one of the bodies at the scene. The body, a male, approximately mid to late 30’s had been burned beyond recognition. Completely burnt, unlike the other bodies in the explosion. Now he knew for certain what had happened.

“He left me to pay off his almost 75,000 dollar debt he owed to Falcone. I had just lost my parents, and Falcone showed up at the wake and politely demanded I finish repaying him, or else. While my father was still paying him back, I found a note to my father warning him not to be late again. I didn’t know what he meant until I saw the date at the bottom. The same week my boyfriend Aaron died. I almost fainted. All because my father ‘was’ Cluemaster.”

“How do you know this? What makes you so certain that he was Cluemaster? What makes you so certain of this?” She rubbed her head again and tried once more to look away. Bruce strengthened the hold he had on her mind. What is she trying to hide now? She gave a small cry of pain, but answered him.

“I know because I saw his plans at home.” Bruce knew that wasn’t everything. She was telling the truth, but wasn’t telling everything.

“Miss. Brown, what else do you know about your fathers ‘escapades’? How did you know all of this?” She looked afraid, but she held his gaze. 

“Because I followed him, and when the police and Batman weren’t able to catch him, I gave them clues to follow.” She’s still hiding something. Wait, ‘clues to follow’.

“Who did you disguise yourself as? What did you call yourself?” She tensed, then sighed in resignation. 

“I called myself ‘Spoiler’, since I was ‘spoiling’ my father’s crime spree.” She was quiet for a few seconds, before tilting her head to the side and crossing her arms. “I also lured him out of buildings that were owned by other people, so Batman and the police could arrest him. Batman especially, due to him being not human.” Bruce felt his eyebrows raise in question again.

“What makes you think Batman isn’t a human?” She can’t possibly know. But to Bruce’s surprise, she answered,

“He’s a vampire.” That caused Bruce to gape at her, and his hold on her mind almost slipped. Regaining himself, he squared his shoulders.

“How is he a vampire? Have you seen him drink blood?” He was curious as to when he slipped up. She answered somewhat timidly.

“I saw him drink a criminal’s blood once. After seeing that, I saw that he had to be invited into a building so that he could enter. Or that the building had to have three or less walls. After I saw that, my mother’s warning about vampires came to mind. Since then, I carry a few small pieces of iron with me as protection.” Bruce, while initially surprised by her answer, had to nod his head to agree with her. She began to sag where she stood.

“Last question Miss. Brown. What illness are you recovering from? Answer this question and you can go back to bed.” She tried to look down, but found she still couldn’t. She seemed ashamed of something.

“Do you promise not to look down upon me, if I tell you?” Bruce seemed stunned, but nodded his head. “My boyfriend and I were expecting a baby, before he died, was murdered. I feared Falcone would kill me and the baby next, so when the baby was born, I gave it up for adoption. I left soon after to see if I could get a job to pay off Falcone.

“At one point, I was working three jobs and still wasn’t making enough money. So I took to selling things. The furniture, clothes, my mother’s jewelry. In the process, I came down with the flu. It took a week of or so to recover. That was a week ago. I still have 1,000 dollars to pay him back, and I wanted to get away from here to find a better paying job. So that I can pay him off, once and for all.”

Bruce stood there in shock. She had lost her boyfriend, had a baby, gave the baby up for adoption, became sick and was being harassed by Falcone. All seemingly within a year. Now that he thought about it, he had last seen Spoiler, back in May of last year. That meant that the baby had been born either in January or February of this year, in order for her to have lost her ‘baby weight’. Here it was late May and she was also still getting over the influenza. Bruce shook his head then.

“Thank you for your help Miss. Brown. You may go back to bed. And when you wake up, you won’t remember any of this.” Bruce’s eyes went from red to black then went back to his natural blue. Stephanie’s eyes went back to her natural sky blue. She blinked, then turned to head back to her room. Once she had shut the door behind her, Bruce turned to Jarvis.

“I’m heading out for patrol now. Keep an eye on her, if you will.” Jarvis nodded his head. “I’m going to look into this ‘Aaron’ she spoke of, and hopefully find out something I can use against Falcone.” He strode back into the study and headed to the grandfather clock at the far right side of the room. He paused and turned back towards the phone.

“Is something the matter, Master Bruce?” Jarvis inquired politely. Bruce picked up the phone and waited for the operator to answer.

“Yes, I’d like to place a call to Richard and Barbara Grayson in Bludhaven, please?” Bruce placed his hand over the receiver. “I need to call in Dick and Barbara. They’ll need to know eventually, if they don’t already.” Jarvis nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry Jarvis, I’ll take care of the mechanic in the morning.” The phone started ring, causing Bruce to remove his hand. The phone rang at least seven times, before a cheerful male voice replied.

“Grayson residence, Dick speaking.” Bruce could only grin before he spoke.

“Dick, its Bruce. How soon can you and Barbara be here tomorrow?”

 

When she woke up, she felt as if she had fought all night, instead of sleeping. She rubbed her head as she sat up in bed. She stretched her arms over head and looked out the window. She had to do a double-take then looked at the antique clock on the nightstand beside the bed. 9:56, it read. She hurriedly jumped out of bed, throwing her sheets off the other side of the bed. She grabbed her suitcase and heaved it on to the bed. She had definitely over slept.  
Less than ten minutes later, Jarvis heard her throwing her door open and run out the door. He met her at the top of the stairs, trying not to grin at her harried expression. She almost ran into him, before she could stop herself. She grabbed his shoulders, and asked,

“Jarvis, has the mechanic been here? Or, rather, did you see if the mechanic came to get my car? I overslept, and I don’t know if he was able to get the car on his tow-truck or anything.” She said as she tried not to panic. Jarvis gently laughed aloud. He placed his hands on hers and gently pulled them off his shoulders. He looked her in the eyes to insure her full attention was on him.

“Miss. Stephanie, I was on my way to tell you just now. Master Wayne came home late last night, and when I explained your dilemma to him, he decided that he would fix your car himself. He is quite handy with vehicles, if I may say so. He was rather impressed with your story, and wanted to help you out. He called the mechanic back early this morning to tell him that his services were not needed any further. That’s why I let you sleep as late as I could.” Stephanie gaped at him, before shaking her head.

“Jarvis, while I appreciate everything that you and Mr. Wayne have done for me, he didn’t have to do that. I’m just a stranger passing through on my way out of Gotham. He didn’t have to do that.” She paused when she realized something. “He was impressed with my story? What story? I don’t understand what you mean.” I know I never mentioned Falcone.

“Master Wayne noticed the car broken down as he came home last night. He went to check it, to see if anyone was in it, and came upon a note. The note said, or so he said, ‘Places to find a good paying job’. He has always been exceptionally bright man, noticed that the car was well cared for, despite being almost 10 years old. He said the young woman who drove it must be fresh from high school, and looking to make a fresh start by leaving Gotham to make it big in a city with more opportunities in it.” Stephanie shook her head.

“But how did he know that I was fresh out of high school? How did he know I was a female for that matter?”

“Master Wayne noticed a pin that said ‘Class of 64’ on it. He also noticed that there was a long blonde hair on the driver’s seat. He seemed to notice that you had a small notebook that had shorthand written in it, so he reasoned that you wanted to get a job as a stenographer or secretary. And thus, was rather impressed as he had believed no one wanted to do such work in this day in age.” She looked surprised for a moment. She looked at her hands, and replied rather quietly.

“He’s right, I wanted to get a job as a secretary at a law firm. Unfortunately, no one in Gotham would hire someone who hadn’t been to college. So I wanted to get a job in another city.” Of course, they don’t need to know why I needed to get a job. “Jarvis, now how am I going to repay you and Mr. Wayne? He doesn’t need to fix my car, and I kind of wish he hadn’t decided to in the first place.” She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“Miss. Stephanie, please do calm down. Master Wayne wanted to do this and once he makes up his mind to do something, he does it regardless of anything. Actually, since he returned home rather late last night, he didn’t want to wake you to introduce himself. He would like to meet you tonight, if that’s alright? His eldest son and his wife are returning home tonight. They were supposed to return this morning, but got delayed. Would it be alright with you to stay another night and meet them?” Jarvis felt sorry for the young woman as she started to bite her lip in agitation.

“Mr. Wayne and his son and daughter-in-law are all going to be here tonight? Oh, gracious.” She shook his hands off of hers and twisted her fingers. “I suppose that, since he was kind enough to fix my car and that he wants me to spend another night here, I should meet with them tonight.” She turned her back to Jarvis and nervously wrung her hands. “I’ve never met someone as wealthy as Mr. Wayne before, I’m not sure what to do, Jarvis.”

“Miss. Stephanie, there’s no need to be upset. Master Wayne merely wants to meet you and talk to you for a short while. He seemed upset when I told him that you were pale and just getting over being ill.” At that Stephanie turned to face Jarvis, with a look of betrayal on her face. Jarvis held his hands up to placate her. “I only mentioned that you looked like a few days rest would do you some good. He agreed and told me it would take at least a week to get the parts he needed to fix your car.” She calmed down, seeming to understand Jarvis’s worry for her health. She nodded her head.

“As much as I wish you hadn’t told him that, and that he didn’t decide to fix my car, I’m grateful.” She sighed and lifted her hand to her head. “Truthfully, I probably do need a few days’ rest. I am really tired.” She rubbed her head and added. “Are you sure it will take a week to get everything he needs to fix my car? Maybe I should have just had the mechanic look at it.” I really need to leave Gotham as soon as possible.

“Yes Miss. Stephanie, I’m certain that’s how long it will take Master Wayne to get all of the necessary parts. Then I believe it will take another day or so to fix the problem. So please rest at ease. He will fix the problem and then you will be on your way.” He grinned at her to calm her down. She smiled back and seemed to gain a small amount on cheerfulness.

“Alright Jarvis, you and Mr. Wayne win. I’ll stay and meet him and his family tonight.” Well, I don’t really have much of a choice in the matter, but still. “What time did he want to meet me? And what do you suggest I wear?” If she had to meet someone so important, she definitely didn’t want to dress like a slob. He stepped back and looked her over, not judgingly, and hummed.

“Do you have anything in lilac? I do believe it would complement your eyes and hair.” She shook her head.

“No, I don’t own anything lilac. I only have one good dress, and that needed to be washed last night, remember?” She brought her hand to her chin and thought. “Would you like to help me figure out something to wear. I don’t have many clothes, but we might be able to find something presentable.” Jarvis seemed distraught at that.

“Good gracious Miss. Stephanie, how does a beautiful young woman such as yourself not have ‘many clothes’? Mrs. Barbara loves clothes, and would probably have a heart attack if she heard you say that. If we can’t find something in your clothes, I’m certain she wouldn’t mind if you borrowed some of her clothes. In fact, I know she wouldn’t. She keeps some clothes here at all times.” At that Stephanie paled and shook her head violently.

“No Jarvis, absolutely not. It’s bad enough I’m intruding on Mr. Wayne’s kind nature, I don’t want to impose any further. Especially by borrowing another woman’s clothes. No, I’ll just wear something nice and hope Mr. Wayne doesn’t think I’m a unorganized slob.” Jarvis frowned at her. “I’m not trying to suggest that Mr. Wayne would look down on me, because he seems like a kind man. I swear I’m not that rude, I just have a certain amount of pride.” She replied quickly.

“Miss. Stephanie, I do understand that you want to make a good impression with Master Wayne, however you do not give him enough credit. He doesn’t care what a person wears, so long as they’re decent, and take a certain amount of pride in themselves. He’s more concerned with the fact that you are still recuperating. As for Mrs. Barbara, she is a very considerate person, and would be more than happy to lend you some clothes. She loves to help people. 

“All three of them love to help people. They wouldn’t ever try to flaunt their wealth, unless there was a catastrophic event. Only then would they use their significant wealth, but to help numerous people in need of it.” He said as he looked at her sharply. She lowered her head in shame.

“I’m really sorry Jarvis, I just don’t want to make a fool of myself. Well, at least not any further then I already have.” Looked away and started to walk back to the guestroom, feeling like an ass. “I’m really, truly sorry, Jarvis. I’m not used to so many niceties. Let alone, like someone from the Wayne family. I just, don’t know how to handle all of this. It makes me feel really inadequate.

“I just feel like a bug under a glass being observed. And I know I don’t have any reason to feel like that.” She sighed as she heard Jarvis walk up to her side. “I’m ashamed to admit this, but I feel like I’m going to be judged by my appearances and they’ll just look down on me because of it. I realize the Wayne family isn’t like that, but personal experience tells me not to be too careful.” Jarvis placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.

“It’s alright Miss. Stephanie, everything will be alright. I understand why you would be worried, but I assure you that the Wayne family would never do something so disrespectful. I know that Mrs. Barbara would be more than thrilled to let you borrow her clothes. She wouldn’t mind if you needed to borrow something, and she certainly won’t look down on you for it. Now, let’s see if we can find you something to wear tonight.”


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting the Family (can be tough sometimes)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, if Stephanie seems OOC, please overlook it, as I still don’t have a grasp on her character. Besides, under the circumstances, I think she’s entitled to act a little different. Also, she seems to realize that she won’t be leaving the manor for quite some time. (She just doesn’t know why, yet.) The others are going to seem OOC to, but hopefully not to the same extent. 
> 
> Also, I’ll explain in later chapters why I changed the guy’s names. Bruce is going to be called Andrew when he’s around people who don’t know what he is. Dick is called John and Jason is called Peter for the same reason. They call themselves by their real names, so I'm sorry if it gets a bit confusing. I'll stop after Stephanie finds out the truth. Also, I tried to give a few tidbits of information on the nature of the curse. 
> 
> I promise the romance will be as little as possible. Also, I really like the thought of Jason and Stephanie together. I saw a fanart of them together and fell in love with the couple. I like Tim and Stephanie together, but I like Jason and Stephanie better. If there’s anything you would like to ask me about the curse or the story, just message me and I’ll try my best to answer it without spoiling the story. Otherwise, please be patient with me.
> 
> Oh, and before I forget, I put the study on the second floor, without realizing it’s supposed to be on the first. Oops, I know I screwed that up, but I like having the study on the second floor, so let’s just pretend that the entrance to the Batcave starts on the second floor. Please?
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 3: Meeting the Family (can be tough sometimes)

After asking Jarvis if he would help her find something suitable to wear for her meeting with Mr. Wayne, Stephanie was pleased to find that her favorite pale blue short-sleeve blouse and her mother’s cameo brooch were nice enough to wear. She was however dismayed to find that she had to borrow a dark purple pantsuit and matching pair of heels from Barbara. She was surprised to find that Barbara’s clothes fit her so well, but her shoes were one size too small. Jarvis expressed his apologies at not asking her what shoe size she wore, but Stephanie was quick to reassure him that it was alright. She found she liked the pantsuit, which made her feel a little awkward, so finding the shoes not fit her made her feel more at ease. After spending nearly an hour of looking through clothes and finally finding something to wear, she laid out her clothes for the evening and changed back to her regular clothes. Stephanie then volunteered to help Jarvis was his daily chores.

At first she was rebuffed, after all she was a guest, and the Wayne family wouldn’t be happy if Jarvis wasn’t able to do his respective duties. But, after explaining that she wanted to do something to keep her occupied until it was time to get ready, Jarvis hesitantly agreed. After eating breakfast she was only allowed to help him make lists of the food and drinks in the house as he took inventory, since his eyesight was starting to go bad. She quickly took to writing down everything she was told to, and Jarvis was somewhat delighted to have her help. They spent the next five or so hours quietly working on lists: for groceries Jarvis would need to order, what could be thrown out, what needed to be taken care of later in the week, and so on.

Lunch came and went as Jarvis began to regale her of the legacy of the Wayne family starting back during colonial times. He also went on to describe how a Pennyworth man or woman had served the Wayne family since before the civil war. Stephanie was captivated listening to him tell his tales, yet somehow she found herself beginning to think that Jarvis was hiding something from her. She just shrugged her shoulders, and continued to listen to his tales. After lunch, Jarvis politely told her that he was capable of finishing his chores by himself, but appreciated the help she had provided. He showed her the library downstairs and told her she was free to read whenever and whatever she wanted, so she began to look at the expansive library. She found a book she had started to read last year before needing to stop because she had found out she was pregnant. So she read until Jarvis came to collect her at seven o’clock.

At eight o’clock, she found herself walking down the hallway to the study upstairs. She looked out a window as she passed and thought she saw a large shadow pass by the edge of the fence protecting the property. A large shadow that seemed to suddenly stand up right beside the fence and look straight at her, before disappearing from her sight. Thinking it was just her nerves getting the better of her, she shook her head and kept walking toward Jarvis. Jarvis waited outside the door of the study and smiled encouragingly at her.

“Master Wayne is waiting inside with his son and daughter-in-law. Just stay calm Miss. Stephanie, he’s not going to bite you. He, well they actually, just want to meet you.” Stephanie nodded her head to Jarvis, and took a deep breath. Jarvis knocked on the door and spoke, “Master Wayne, Miss. Brown is here to meet you, sir.” She heard a deep voice reply shortly after.

“Please come on in.” Jarvis opened the door and stepped inside ahead of Stephanie. As she slowly walked in, she saw a tall broad-shouldered man standing in front of the fireplace. He had his back to her, before turning around as she entered. She stopped a few yards away from the desk situated in the middle of the room. She hazarded a quick glance around and saw a young couple sitting on the couch a short distance away. The young man looked up at her and winked, before turning his attention to the man behind the desk.

“May I introduce, Miss. Stephanie Brown. Miss. Brown, the gentleman before you is Master Andrew Wayne.” Said man nodded his head towards her, smiling quite charmingly. When she looked at his eyes, Stephanie thought she was seeing things. Brown eyes, I could have sworn they would be blue. Shaking her head at the ridiculous thought, she bowed her head at Mr. Wayne. Jarvis continued,

“And over here is Master Andrew’s eldest son John, and his daughter-in-law, Ms. Barbara.” The red haired woman smiled and gave a short wave as she and her husband got up off of the couch. Stephanie bowed to the couple and began to worry about whether Barbara would raise a fit about wearing her clothes. Hearing someone clear their throat, Stephanie turned once more to Mr. Wayne.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss. Brown. I’m Andrew Wayne, but you can call me Andrew if you’d like.” She felt her palms start to sweat and quickly wiped them on her pants. Once she was satisfied they were dry, she lifted her right hand out in front of her and smiled.

“No, Mr. Wayne, the pleasure is all mine.” Seeing her try not to shake from nerves, Andrew raised his right hand and shook hers in a firm handshake. Stephanie stood in front of him for a few seconds before realizing, she should probably let go of his hand. She let go of his hand and turned to the young couple that now stood next to him. “Jarvis told me about how you not only let me spend the night last night, but that you wanted to fix my car. I’m truly grateful for what you’ve done, especially since you didn’t need to do it. I just wish there was something that I could do to repay your kindness.” 

Seeing a mildly confused look on his rather handsome face, Stephanie felt like a fool. ‘Stephanie you moron, how could you be so stupid as to say something like that.’ She didn’t seem to realize that the Wayne family were having a quiet conversation amongst themselves.

('Aw, this poor woman looks like she’s about to have a nervous breakdown. She definitely seems rather sweet and kind, but she seems to be under the impression that she’ll have to repay you, Bruce.') The younger male spoke mentally.

('She thinks that she’ll be able to leave after I fix her car, Dick. Unfortunately, once the gate lets someone in, they don’t get out. You should have heard what she had to say last night when I had her under compulsion. She’s had a tough life, and I do feel bad for her though.') The elder man replied. But it was what the female spoke to them both that ended any further conversation. 

('Bruce, Dick, I don’t know how long she’ll be able to keep her humanity. The dream I had last night had her dying in Jason’s arms on the night of the new moon. That means either she dies on the new moon, or changes that night.') Barbara stepped up to Stephanie and put a calming hand on her shoulder. 'Less than two weeks away.' Stephanie seemed to calm down and smiled awkwardly at Barbara, before turning back to face Andrew.

"Mr. Wayne, I apologize for sounding so rude just now. I just am not used to being around people who aren’t out to get me or be mean towards me. I’m very sorry, I just don’t want to seem ungrateful for the kindness you all have shown me.” She turned back to Barbara. “I’m very sorry I’m wearing your clothes. I just didn’t have anything nice to wear tonight. Jarvis said you wouldn’t mind, but still. Thank you for letting me wear them, I’ll return them asap.”

Barbara, smiled at her and told her, 

“The suit looks on good on you. It definitely looks better on you then it ever did on me. Although, I guess dark purple goes better with blonde hair then it does with red hair. Don’t worry about the clothes, I’m not going to get mad at you for borrowing them.” Barbara extended her hand and shook Stephanie’s. “My name is Barbara. Although I’m certain you know that, and I’m married to the handsome gentleman on my left.”

“That would be me, John Wayne. No, definitely not the actor, but I’ve been told that I have a knack for ‘charming the ladies’. You can call me John, but please, not Johnny. I don’t like to be called that.” Barbara released Stephanie’s hand and John took her hand into his own. “As for repaying dad, well, he has a business proposition for you.” Stephanie turned back to see Andrew looking at her expectantly. Stephanie felt her hand be released.

“I’m sorry Miss. Brown, I thought Jarvis had mentioned that I would like to see your skills with shorthand. Did he tell you that I needed a new secretary?” Stephanie gaped at him a few seconds before shaking her head. Jarvis spoke up from behind her.

“I’m very sorry, Master Andrew. I fear that I forgot about that little bit of information this morning. I told Miss. Stephanie that you wanted to meet her tonight, and after calming her down shortly thereafter, I made breakfast. She wanted to help me around the manor, and I only agreed when she mentioned that she could help me with the list of chores to make. I must admit sir, her shorthand is very good, and her handwriting is very neat as well.” Jarvis answered as he pulled a list from his pocket and handed it to Andrew. Seeming to regain her ability to talk, Stephanie spoke to Mr. Wayne.

“Mr. Wayne, I don’t know what to say. I only have a years’ worth of typing. It’s not like I have a college education, so I’m not certain I’d be good enough for what you might expect of your secretaries.” She looked down at her hands and began to knot her fingers in worry. “Besides, how can I possibly take a job from you knowing that you’re already doing so much for me? I really appreciate the thought, but.” Stephanie was swiftly cut off from saying anything more when Andrew’s hand lifted up.

“Jarvis you’re right, her shorthand is quite good.” He lifted his head from where he had been reading the list Jarvis had handed him. “Miss. Brown, I assure you it’s no trouble. I can tell from this list that you’re not only good at shorthand, but that you’re also a bit of a perfectionist. You’re penmanship is very neat, and I can read what you’ve written, which is an improvement from my last secretary. Would you consider at least a trial period of a week? Just to see if you can keep up with me?”

She was about to shake her head and say no, but something in his gaze sent a chill down her back. Something told her to hold her tongue and just accept the job offer. So she smiled and nodded her head.

“Well, since you’re so certain, I suppose a week’s worth of time as a fill-in couldn’t hurt. Yes Mr. Wayne, I’ll take the job.” His smile seemed to ease any anxieties she had about the whole situation. “Ah, one question though, Mr. Wayne?” He looked at her in question. “If it’s alright, I’d like to ask about payment?”

“Ah, you’re quite right, I had almost forgotten. I pay my secretary 10 dollars an hour, so that’s about 400 dollars a week. Is that alright with you, Miss. Brown?” Stephanie gave a shocked gasp at the mention of money. “If that’s not enough, I could pay you 15 dollars an hour, or 600 dollars a week.” Stephanie quickly shook her head.

“No, Mr. Wayne, that wasn’t what I meant.” Andrew frowned at her.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand then. What exactly did you mean, Miss. Brown?” Stephanie swallowed loudly.

“What I meant, Mr. Wayne, is that since you’re letting me stay here until my car is fixed, and that you’re the one to fix it, I don’t think it’s fair for you to pay me.” Seeing him about to object, she shook her head and continued. “Mr. Wayne please, I think it’s generous of you for even offering to pay that much. But I think that it would be rude of me to continue to take advantage of your kindness. At least until the trial period is over. That way, if I do a good job and you still want me to be your secretary, then you could pay me whatever you deem necessary.” Andrew raised an eyebrow as he thought the statement through.

“Very well, Miss. Brown, I agree to your terms. I will wait until after the trial period is over before making my decision.” He smiled at her again. “See, you’re already helping me by keeping me in line. Now that that has been decided, Jarvis usually drives me to work by no later than 8:00 in the morning. Just to be certain that I’m ready for the day. And since your car is broken down, I don’t mind riding with you, if you don’t mind. Monday morning we leave at 7:30 exactly.

“Once we’re there, I’ll show you your desk, and answer any questions you may have. Is that alright with you Miss. Brown?” Stephanie stood there listening as he began his speech. When he finished, she nodded her head.

“I just wish that I didn’t need a ride to work. Other than that, I think everything else sounds great.” She smiled as brightly as she could. “Oh, one other thing Mr. Wayne, you can call me Stephanie if you’d like to.” She paused to look at the amused looking couple and said. “The both of you can call me that to, but only if you’d like.” Oh crud, now what am I going to wear for the week? I can’t just keep borrowing Ms. Barbara’s clothes.

Sensing her embarrassment, Barbara walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Good, now that that’s settled, this means you and I can do some shopping tomorrow afternoon.” Stephanie looked at her with surprise on her face. “Oh don’t worry, I don’t mind letting you borrow my clothes, but you do need some shoes that fit. I know you’ll be sitting most of the time, but it still wouldn’t hurt to buy some new shoes.” Stephanie attempted to protest, but Barbara insisted. “It’ll be fun, just wait and see.”

At the same time, the Wayne men conversed mentally while pretending to read the papers on Andrew’s desk. 

('Bruce, I just had a rather weird thought. I’d say it, but you might not like it.') Andrew looked to his son and raised an eyebrow.

('Whether I like it or not, if it involves Miss. Brown, like I think it does, just say it.') John sighed softly and turned to look at the two women chatting quietly amongst themselves.

('Alright, if you insist. I just thought that her stubbornness made me think that she was a politer, female Jason. What do you think?') At that the elder man’s eyes whipped to Stephanie, before returning to look at his son.

('Dick, I think you might be on to something.') Seeing the confusion on his son’s face, he continued. ('The gate only reveals itself to people who are fated to become a ‘member’ of the Wayne clan. I thought that meant she was going to become a daughter to me. What if she’s supposed to become a daughter-in-law instead?')  
John started, and glanced back to see the women now sitting on the couch laughing politely at a joke Barbara had made. 

('Wait, you mean, you think she might be Jason’s soul mate? Like Barbara is mine?') He turned to walk around the desk to stand in front of his father. ('I know the conditions of the curse are strange to say the least, but that she’s supposed to be Jason’s ‘partner’? Does this mean you had the dream again?')

('I did, that’s why I’ve been upset this week. I only have that memory-dream just before something like this happens.') He paused and looked his son in the eyes with an intensity that had Stephanie look up quickly. Both men relaxed then, and Stephanie shook her head and returned to her conversation with Barbara. ('Did you see that just now? She’s a latent psychic, probably an empath, and she has a calming energy about her. If anyone can help curb Jason’s violent tendencies, I think it’s her. I’m not going to introduce her to him alone though, that would be stupid.')

('Maybe, Babs did say she saw Jason with a gentle smile, which could only happen if he met the right person. His ‘soul mate/partner’ as per the curse. Either way, she’s here to stay. Does this mean you’re going to tell Jason?') Andrew returned his gaze to the top of his desk and nodded.

('I’ll try to find him during patrol tonight. Now I think we need to interrupt the ‘girl talk’.') Andrew cleared his throat to get the ladies attention.

"I can’t believe I forgot to mention this Miss. Brown. I have another son who is also out of town on business, but I believe he’ll be back home sometime within the next few days. His name is Peter, although he prefers Pete. He’s a few years younger than John and Babs and a few years older than you. When he returns, I’d like to introduce you to him.” 

('Truthfully, I want to introduce the two of them and gauge his reaction to her. That will tell me the answer faster than anything else.')

('That’s right, if he can’t take his eyes off of her, then she is supposed to be his ‘partner’. I just hope she can calm him down, because I don’t want to see her get hurt. And I don’t want to hurt him either; after all, he is my younger brother.') The clock chimed 8:30 and Stephanie tried to hide a yawn. Barbara saw it though and pointed it out.

“Stephanie, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. You’ve been up all day and we just got here less than two hours ago. Maybe you should go to bed. After all, you’ll need your rest since we’re going shopping tomorrow. Even if you don’t think you need to.” Stephanie sighed as she realized Barbara wasn’t going to let her wriggle out of going shopping.

“Yes ma’am. I didn’t realize I was as tired as I am. Is it alright if I go to sleep so early though?” John turned to smile at her and replied.

“Of course it’s alright, Miss. Brown. If you’re tired, you should go to bed. Besides, one of the first things you need to learn about us is that we keep all sorts of weird hours. We’ll be alright, besides we need to go over what Babs and I found out about a potential partner for Wayne Enterprises. You’ll hear all about it either tomorrow or Sunday.” Stephanie nodded and got up to leave. She got to the door and turned around.

“Alright then, I guess I’ll see you all in the morning. Goodnight everybody.” She left the study to a chorus of ‘Goodnight’s and went back to her room. Once everyone was certain she had shut her door and couldn’t hear anything else, ‘Andrew’ motioned the others towards the desk. Before he could say anything however, Barbara spoke first.

“Bruce, I think she’s Jason’s soul mate.” ‘John’ chuckled as quietly as he could, while Jarvis gasped in surprise. Bruce locked his blue eyes onto Barbara.

“Tell me what you saw in your dream. Dick mentioned that you saw Jason with a gentle smile on his face? What did you see?” Barbara nodded her head.

“Well as you know, after being turned into a vampire, my precognitive abilities amplified. It hasn’t happened too often in the last few decades, but last night I had a premonition-dream. I saw Jason standing on the roof of the tallest building in the warehouse district. His territory mind you, so that’s not too surprising. What was surprising though, was the fact that when he turned towards me, he was smiling. A kind gentle smile, almost as if he was in love with someone. I could tell from his expression, that he was smitten.

“The next thing I saw was Miss. Brown standing in the ballroom at night. She must have heard someone, because she suddenly turned around and started smiling. I assume she saw someone she was happy to see, since she was smiling so widely, I would have thought that she had been hit with Joker toxin. Then the next thing I saw was Jason with tears streaming down his face, clutching a young woman covered in blood. He threw his head back, and howled in pain toward the sky.” At this, Bruce gasped.

“How can you be certain the woman you saw was Stephanie Brown?” Barbara nodded her head and continued.

“The young woman was wearing a purple bodysuit of some kind. No boots, gloves, mask or belt. But she was still wearing her cloak. It was definitely Spoiler I saw. Or rather, I saw Stephanie wearing Spoiler’s costume.” Dick gasped and turned to Bruce.

“Didn’t you say that Stephanie is Spoiler?” Bruce nodded. “That actually explains something I saw last year. I could have sworn I saw Jason come around an area Spoiler was hiding, and actually put his guns back in their holsters. I was kind of startled by what he did, so I asked him about it later. He said, ‘Something just came over me, and told me to put my guns up.’ What are the odds of that happening? It can’t be a coincidence.” 

Bruce and Barbara stood somewhat surprised. Jarvis was the one to break the silence.

“Doesn’t the curse on the Wayne family, draw new family members based on spiritual compatibility?” Bruce nodded his head and turned towards Jarvis.

“Tabitha told me, the curse was cast on me so that I may gather family members to form a new family. That way, I would stop obsessing over my lost parents. She told me later, that once I find someone else who would become a new family member, they would draw someone compatible to them, through a connection at a spiritual level. In other words, they would draw their ‘soul mate/partner’ to them.

“She said the same held true for me. Since I didn’t stop hunting for my parent’s murderer, not even to start a family of my own, she took the decision away from me. But, everyone in my new ’family’ would inadvertently attract their ‘soul mate’ through their connection to me.” Bruce shrugged his shoulders. “The curse draws me to people I share an affinity with. For Dick, it was losing our parents at a young age. As for Jason, it was our anger and stubbornness.”

“And for Ms. Barbara? She was attracted to Master Dick, because you had taken him in, correct?” Bruce nodded and Dick answered.

“Somehow, I knew when I first saw her, that Barbara and I shared a connection. Being turned, just amplified the feeling even more. And since Bruce used his blood the strengthen the barrier on the gate, it too only draws in people ‘fated’ to become a member of the Wayne ‘family’ or ‘clan’, really.” Dick sighed. “And since it’s been so long since Jason came back to the manor, maybe it was just a matter of time until his soul mate came here. Maybe it means he’ll be coming home, possibly to stay. Especially since, he’s been gone for nearly two decades.”

“I’m going to try and talk to him, to see if he will come back to meet her at least. I’m not going to mention her possibly being his soul mate, but I have to try to convince him to come here for long enough to meet her.” Bruce replied as the clock struck 9:00. He looked at the others. “Jarvis, you mustn’t mention anything to her about this, it’ll only scare her. As for everything else, let’s just wait and see what happens.” Everyone nodded in agreement. “Now then, let’s get ready for patrol.”


	5. Chapter 4: A Long Way to Normal (Or, Normal is overrated)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason makes a short appearance in this chapter, so I hope I don’t disappoint Jason fans out there. 
> 
> Finally, I finished this chapter. I’m really sorry about the delay in the update of this chapter. I was doing good, up until I went to write about Stephanie’s first day at work. Unfortunately, writer’s block set in and when I tried to push myself to continue to write, my grandfather passed away. From there, I just couldn’t figure out a way to continue the story until this past week. Again I’m really sorry about the delay, but I got it done.
> 
> Also, since this story takes place in the 1960’s, I mentioned a little bit of racism. I swear I’m not trying to push my views on anyone, but that was a big thing in the 60’s, so I mentioned it here. That should be the only time I mention it though, so please bear with me. The same goes for the bit about church. Sorry, but I’m pretty sure at least one comic issue had Bruce praying, so I would assume that he might have gone to church. Or at least on occasion, so it’ll only be mentioned this one time. Hopefully at least, but if it is mentioned in future chapters, I’ll note it at the top of the chapter it appears in.
> 
> Thank you for your time, and please leave a review. Until next time, peace out.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 4: A Long Way to Normal (Or, Normal is overrated)

 

“Jason, I need to speak with you.” Spoke a deep voice coming from the shadows. The figure standing on the roof, turned slightly to acknowledge the voice. The red helmet the figure wore was slowly removed, revealing a young man’s face. Turning completely to face the shadows, a breeze blew and shifted the white streak of hair. 

“Oh no, it’s the ‘Bat’. ‘Punisher of crime.’ Whatever shall I do?” A dark figure emerged from the shadows and moved to stand in front of the young man. A look of displeasure could be seen on the ‘Batman’s’ face. “Oh come on, it’s not like we actually get along with each other. Our ideologies go against each other.” Batman crossed arms, and replied,

“Jason, I know we don’t always get along, but do we really need to antagonize each other?” Jason scoffed and rolled his green eyes at the other man.

“Really, B? I know you hate killing people and using guns, and I don’t.” Batman’s eyebrow raised a slight fraction. “Fine, I don’t enjoy killing everyone I come across, just the scumbags that threaten Gotham. And hey, I seem to recall you were the one to teach me to shoot. I just happened to be really good at it.”

“I don’t seem to recall you having an actual sense of humor before. The dip in Ra’s’ Pit must have had something to do with that.” Jason laughed softly.

“Geez B, you’re the one who needs a sense of humor. Maybe it’ll knock that stick out of your ass.” Batman grinned softly, before becoming serious.

“This is serious; I need you to come to the manor sometime this week.” Seeing the young man start to draw his guns, he held up his hand. “It’s not like that, Jason. All I would like you to do is to come to the manor and meet someone.” The hand dropped back to Jason’s side. “This person, Spoiler actually, knows something about Falcone’s business. The young woman, who used to masquerade as Spoiler, was accidently caught up in Falcone’s business, after her father left her with a debt to settle with the family. You know as well as I do, that it’s only a matter of time until they find her and make her pay the rest of the money off.”

“Or be killed and used as an example.” Jason huffed unhappily. “Damn, I feel sorry for this woman. How did you stumble upon her, and why is she at the manor?” Jason crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one side. 

“She was trying to leave Gotham and find a job so that she could finish paying off Falcone. Her car stalled close to the gate.” Batman shrugged and turned to walk away, “Besides, she came in the front entrance.” Batman didn’t even blink as Jason appeared right in front of him to block his exit. 

“How the hell did she do that? Yeah, I know about the barrier, but it only let’s people in if they're gonna become a vampire.” Batman nodded his head. “Son of a bitch. Really? I thought I was the last one that was gonna be added to the family.” 

“I don’t know how the barrier knows who to let in, but it let her in yesterday evening. I called Dick and Barbara to let them know.” Jason’s face showed his dislike at the mention of his older adopted brother. “However, they already knew, because Babs saw her die in a vision. You know as well as I do, that her visions are rarely, if ever, wrong.” Jason signed in resignation and took a step back.

“Does this mean you’ve called Tabitha? If Babs saw this woman in a vision, that means she won’t last long.”

“I called Tabitha first thing this morning, and she’s on her way. Now as I said earlier, this young woman has some information on Falcone, and his racketeering. Her father faked his own death, just to be rid of the debt he owed. Left this young woman to pay off his 75,000 dollar debt all by herself.” Jason shook his head and began to pace. “The GCPD and I have a sting in place to catch Falcone and trap him. With the right information, we will catch him. 

“But, she won’t tell me what she knows, since I’m letting her stay at the manor for the time being. I’m fixing her car and I’ve hired her to temporarily fill-in as my secretary. But, I’m worried that she‘ll either try to run or get caught if she’s out of my sight for too long. That’s another reason why she’s at the manor. I can compel her to tell me what she knows, but she’s a latent psychic.” At this statement, Jason stopped and turned to look at his adopted father.

“She’s psychic? Well, that just adds another layer to this whole mess.” He sighed. “So let me guess, you want me to meet this woman, and, what? Keep an eye on her to make sure she stays at the manor? Be nice to her to distract her from noticing your disappearances?”

“Truthfully, I was hoping that you could meet her and become friends with her. Barbara would have an easier time getting the information from her. You on the other hand, would be able to protect her anytime she went outside of the manor. All I need is the information and we’ve got Falcone behind bars.” Batman shrugged his shoulders. “Either way, you still need to meet her before she becomes a member of the ‘family’.” He turned to walk away, before Jason replied.

“I don’t know when I might be there. You know the manor holds a lot of bad memories for me.” Batman nodded.

“It holds a few good ones too, though.” Jason laughed. “Just come by Monday or Tuesday night. That’s all I ask. If you decide you don’t want to protect her after you meet her, you can leave whenever you want to.” Jason nodded his head and watched Batman disappear into the night.

“I guess I’m going home then. It’s only been 20 years after all.” A careless shrug and Jason replaced his helmet. “Boy, time sure flies when you’re having fun. I guess I have to put up with everyone again. Just for one night at least.” Jason walked to the edge of the building and jumped.

 

The next evening had Stephanie sighing in frustration as she looked at the new clothes hanging in her wardrobe. The several new dresses and suits that she and Barbara had bought earlier in the day. As well as the new shoes that matched the outfits. She shook her head and tried not to cry. Barbara had insisted that they were going to buy a few pairs of new shoes for Stephanie. In less than two hours they had left with several hundreds of dollars’ worth of clothes. And then, they had almost run into one of Falcone’s cronies. 

'I knew better than to go back into the city limits. Because, of course I almost ran into one of his men. Only my luck is bad enough to attract that type of attention. And now Barbara knows what’s really going on.' Stephanie sighed once more as she shut the door to the wardrobe. She turned and made her way back to the bed, and flopped down rather heavily. 'I just hope Barbara doesn’t tell Mr. Wayne. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him after everything that he’s done for me.'

Stephanie was pulled from her mental monologue when she heard a knock on her door.

“Yes, who is it?” she replied. She thought she heard a shifting noise outside her door, before she was answered.

“Stephanie it’s me, Babs. Jarvis said that dinner is ready, and Andrew wants all of us to eat together.” Stephanie quickly got up and opened the door. Barbara stood in front of her smiling. “He doesn’t usually want to eat in the dining room, but he figured since John and I are home after being away for so long, we should eat there instead of the study. He wants you to eat with us too, so he can catch you up on his schedule for Monday, if that’s alright with you?” Barbara tilted her head quizzically, as she waited on Stephanie.

“Are you sure he wants me to eat with you all? I don’t want to intrude on your family time together.” Barbara laughed.

“If he didn’t want you to eat with us, he wouldn’t have invited you to eat with us. Now come on, silly, we don’t want to make Jarvis wait on us.” She made to reach out and grab Stephanie’s hand but stopped as her hand reached the doorway, almost as if she had hit a wall. She laughed again in an attempt to distract Stephanie from noticing. Luckily, Stephanie didn’t seem to notice.

“Alright, just give me a minute to fix my hair, and then I’ll be right down.” 

“Alright, I’ll wait for you at the top of the stairs.” Barbara turned and walked towards the stairs as Stephanie went back into her room and grabbed her comb. She shook her hair down and combed her hair, before pinning her hair up in a bun. Satisfied with her, she gave herself and quick once over and nodded her head. She walked out of her room and headed to the stairs as well.

“You know you didn’t have to wait for me. I do remember how to get to the dining room from here. Jarvis went over the whole manor with me yesterday.” Stephanie said as they walked down the stairs. She couldn’t help but feel, as if Barbara was sticking rather close to her after the run-in with Falcone’s men. Of course, she had had to tell Barbara why she was so edgy, and that’s when this whole thing had started.

“I know I didn’t have to wait, but since we were both going downstairs anyway, why not go together?” Barbara laughed again and Stephanie couldn’t help but feel a wave of calm pass over her. She shook her head to get rid of her silly thoughts. As they made their way to the bottom of the steps, Stephanie looked out one of the front windows and was reminded of what she saw the night before.

“Barbara, can I ask you a silly question?” Babs looked at her curiously and nodded. “Where are the manors nearest neighbors? What I mean, is there anyone who lives near here that I don’t know about?” Babs frowned and shook her head.

“No, the nearest neighbors are the Drakes, and they live a few miles in the direction towards town.” When Stephanie looked confused, Babs asked, “Why do you ask?” Stephanie shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter really, just curious.” Babs shot her a look that said she didn’t believe her. Stephanie sighed, “Truthfully, you might think I’m losing my mind.” At the foot of the stairs, Babs stopped and crossed her arms. 

“Try me. If it’s worrying you enough that you’re asking me, then it must be important. Besides, I’m not going to think you’re losing your mind.” Stephanie couldn’t help feeling grateful as she came to stand right in front of Babs. She cleared her throat and said,

“Well, last night as I was on my way to the study to meet all of you, I happened to see a shadow at the edge of the gate. I just saw it briefly as I walked past the windows. But, I could have sworn I saw the shadow, sort of, stand up and look at me before it disappeared. The creepy part, at least to me, was that I could see it had red, glowing eyes.” She turned and headed towards the dining room and laughed. “Isn’t that just silly? Maybe I was just tired, was all.”

She didn’t see Babs’s look of shock. 'A werewolf? Here? Just outside the manor’s gate? Shit, Bruce isn’t going to like this.' She shook her head and calmed herself down before walking to catch up to Stephanie.

'Dick, Bruce? Stephanie just told me she thinks she saw a ‘strange shadow’ last night. The way she described it, I think it was a werewolf.' She hid the wince she felt as she heard two voices curse mentally. She glanced at Stephanie and saw she was rubbing her temples with her fingers. 'Guys, ease up on the anger. You’re giving her a headache.'

 

“Is something wrong Stephanie? Do you have a headache?” She asked innocently, knowing Stephanie might not know that she was an empath. Stephanie shook her head and looked up at her.

“I’m alright; my head just hurts for no apparent reason sometimes. I’ll be fine, dinner should help.” And with that, the two of them walked into the dining room. Babs heard Jarvis moving around in the kitchen. 

“Looks like we’re the first ones here tonight.” Stephanie laughed and nodded her head. She lowered her hands and walked to one of the chairs.

“See, my head stopped hurting already. Maybe it was because I smelt Jarvis’s cooking.” She went to pull the chair out, “Umm, is it alright to sit here? I don’t want to sit in someone else’s seat.” Babs nodded.

“You can sit wherever you want, but I think Andrew wants to talk to you about Monday. So, maybe you should sit in the chair to the right of the head of the table.” Stephanie walked to the seat in question and pointed. “Yes, that’s the one. John sits in the chair across from that one. And I sit to his left.” Babs heard the grandfather clock on the second floor open. “The guys should be down here soon.”

As the moved to seat themselves, they heard the Wayne men laughing as they came down the stairs. Jarvis came wheeling a serving cart into the room as Andrew and John entered. The quickly seated themselves as Jarvis began serving their plates. Andrew turned to Stephanie.

“So Babs tells us that the two of you bought several new clothes. I probably should have warned you, that she loves to shop. Either way, I’m glad to see that the two of you are getting along so well.” He grinned pleasantly at Stephanie then winked at Babs. Babs shook her head and smiled.

“Uh, yes sir. She really loves to shop. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’ve just never been on a shopping ‘excursion’ as Barbara called it.” Stephanie looked down at her plate and tried to ignore the others as she picked up her salad fork. 

'I don’t think she’s ever had enough money to buy a new dress of her own before. I’m pretty sure her clothes were hand-me-downs from her mother. The way she was staring at the price tags, I knew she was uncomfortable. But she needed those new clothes, and she wanted to get them too. She just didn’t want me to know that she wanted to buy them.' Barbara told her family mentally.

'From the looks of her family’s finances the last five years alone, she and her mother had to stretch every dollar they made in order to make ends meet. And then her father made things worse after getting involved with Falcone again.' Bruce added as her watched Stephanie eat her salad. 

'I feel bad for her having heard about her childhood. Although I’m sure she’d be furious or embarrassed if we mentioned that to her.' Dick smiled as he asked Barbara to pass the rolls. 'Bruce, I just had a thought. She’s the first new member of our family that isn’t a child. Or rather, she wasn’t a child when she came in through the gate.' Andrew nodded his head to signal that he agreed.

'For the time being, let’s act like we don’t know that she’s going to become a vampire. I know we have to tell her sometime next week, but I don’t think we should tell her that she’s supposed to become one as well, alright?' He turned to Dick and Babs and saw them nod once to signal that they understood. Andrew turned back to Stephanie, and began talking about some of the things to expect at work the day after next. Stephanie began to think that something was going on as dinner continued, but decided it was probably just nerves. Still, the more they talked about Wayne Enterprises, the more she felt that something was going to happen soon. Something that wasn’t good.

Jarvis returned shortly after to bring their dinner and later on to bring out dessert and coffee. By the end of the meal, Stephanie was so full, she felt herself falling asleep. She excused herself for the night and headed to take a shower. At once, all other conversation in the dining room stopped. Bruce called Jarvis and had Barbara repeat what she had told them earlier. Jarvis was surprised to hear that a werewolf had been so close to the gate. Even more so to hear that Stephanie thought it had looked right at her.

“Good heavens, sir. Should I check the parameter in the morning sir? I will do so before I begin breakfast, to make certain that no one has been able to get in.” Bruce nodded his head in agreement.

“That might not be a bad idea, Jarvis. We will all check the parameter to be certain. What makes me wary is the fact that it appeared after Stephanie came here. Now I know that she’s not behind it, but perhaps Falcone is. There are numerous werewolf ‘packs’ in Gotham, it might stand to reason that one of them is working for him. Or, it could just be an isolated incident. Either way, I’m more concerned about the fact she saw it look right at her.”

“We could always check it out after patrol tonight. Just to see if we can find a scent. Maybe then we can try to find it in the city.” Dick supplied in response. “You never know, we might get lucky with it.” Bruce, Babs and Jarvis all agreed. 

“Alright we have a plan. Once Stephanie goes to sleep, we’re heading out. Jarvis, we leave everything to you.” Jarvis nodded his head in understanding. The others stood up and handed their dishes to Jarvis. “We’re going to head up to the study now. See you later, old friend.” Then the three of them left.

 

After determining that the barrier was still intact, the trio proceeded to patrol. The next morning, Stephanie was asked if she went to church, and if she did would she like to go with them to the evening service. She spent the day reading over notes and documents for Mr. Wayne for Monday. She was unaware of anything unusual going on, so she wasn’t aware that the Wayne family didn’t go every week. After returning, Stephanie turned in so that she would wake up early for work. For the first time in a few years, no one went on patrol.

Andrew and Stephanie walked into the building shortly before 9:00 Monday morning. Andrew showed her to her desk, then showed her how to use the intercom in his office and told her what to say when she answered the phone. At 9:00, he went into his office and stayed until 10:00, when he had a meeting. In the meantime, Stephanie typed on her typewriter and wrote down messages for Andrew. She was filing some of her papers, when Andrew asked her to come into his office.

She grabbed her legal pad and started walking towards the door, when she heard the door at the end of the hall open. Both Andrew and Stephanie turned to see a middle-aged black man and a young black boy walk towards them. Andrew started to frown before he spoke to the pair.

“Samuel, where have you been? The meeting’s already over. You should have been here…” he trailed off as he noticed the boy had a cast on his arm. The man, Samuel, looked to the boy at his side and looked back at Andrew.

“Mr. Wayne I’m very sorry I wasn’t here this morning. As I was getting ready to leave for work, my son took a tumble down the stairs and broke his arm. It took a while for the doctor to see us and then a while longer to get his arm taken care of. I only came in to tell you why I was late, and to ask if it would be possible to take the rest of the day off. I know I should have called to tell you, but time got away from me. Again, I’m very sorry Mr. Wayne.” Andrew shook his head and smiled at the pair.

“Samuel it’s alright, I have two boys myself, remember? I was just worried about where you were. You’ve never missed a day of work in over ten years. Of course you can take the rest of the day off. In fact, why don’t you take tomorrow off as well? I need you to be here on Wednesday, so spend tomorrow with your son.” Samuel looked shocked, and began to disagree.

“Mr. Wayne, thank you for giving me the rest of the day off. But I really should be here tomorrow.” He glanced down at his son and saw his crestfallen expression. “I mean, I just don’t want to miss any more work then I already have, sir. Although it’s awfully generous of you to say so.” Andrew smiled and shook his head again.

“Samuel, I insist. And I promise you’re not being fired, if that’s what you’re really worried about. You just lost your wife last month and need to spend some time with your son. Please, I want you to take tomorrow off. I will need you the rest of the week, though.” Samuel and the boy both looked relieved and glad at the proclamation.

“Thank you very much Mr. Wayne. I’ll be here early on Wednesday, so I’ll make the most of the rest of today.” He looked down at his son again and smiled. “Maybe we can go to the park tomorrow. A little sunlight might do us both wonders.” His son nodded with a big grin on his face. Andrew turned toward Stephanie.

“Ms. Brown, please make a note and have it placed in my office before the end of the day.” Stephanie, who had a wide smile as well, nodded her head and made a note. She stopped and looked at Andrew and then Samuel.

“Umm, I’m sorry sir. I’m afraid I don’t know who you are. I’m really sorry.” Andrew lightly slapped his head.

“Ms. Brown, I’m the one who should apologize.” He turned to Samuel, “Ms. Brown is filling-in until I can replace Alexis Moore. Samuel, this is Stephanie Brown.” Stephanie nodded her head. “And this is Samuel Fox, and his son Lucius.” Stephanie walked around the desk and held her hand out.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be working here, but it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fox.” Samuel seemed a little surprised, but shook her hand. Lucius looked at the sight, seemingly confused. The hand shake ended and Stephanie held her hand out to Lucius. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Fox.” Realizing he had the cast on his right hand, she laughed and swapped hands. Lucius looked at her hand for a few seconds, before grinning again and shaking her hand as well.

“It’s good to meet you too, Ms. Brown.” When the hand shake ended, he turned to his father. “She’s a lot nicer then the last one was.” His father gave him a look. Andrew cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention..

“Alright, I’ll see you early Wednesday morning, Samuel. Try to enjoy yourselves.” He turned to look at Lucius and winked. “Try to keep your old man in line, alright Lucius?” Lucius nodded and replied.

“Yes sir, Mr. Wayne. I’ll do my best to do that.” He turned to look at his father. “Are we leaving now?” Samuel nodded his head and turned to Andrew.

“Thank you again, Mr. Wayne.” They turned to Stephanie. “And I hope this works out for you Ms. Brown. Have a good day, ma’am.” Samuel motioned for Lucius to lead the way out. Lucius turned one last time toward Stephanie.

“I hope we meet again Ms. Brown. And good luck here at Wayne Enterprises.” He grinned widely before heading back to the exit. Stephanie laughed a little and turned towards Andrew. She frowned when she noticed him sighing.

“Is everything alright, Mr. Wayne?” Andrew nodded his head and motioned her into his office. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” Stephanie was suddenly worried. Andrew shook his head and spoke.

“No, you did nothing wrong Ms. Brown. My last secretary, Mrs. Moore, was not nice to Samuel and Lucius.” Stephanie gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Mrs. Moore was a hard worker, she had bad penmanship and her shorthand was hard to read, but she was a good secretary. She and her husband are originally from the south though, and as a consequence, was rather racist towards Samuel and his family.”

“That’s horrible. How can somebody be so small-minded to someone they haven’t even meet? At least try to get to know them before you decide if you like them or not.” At that Andrew laughed.

“That right there is why I think you’ll fit in just fine here.” Stephanie shot his a quizzical look. “What I mean is that I don’t look at someone’s skin color, I look more at their personality, to see if they should be hired. We here at Wayne Enterprises look for three things when it comes to hiring someone; loyalty, trustworthiness, and honesty. I’ve only known you for a few days, and already know that you are honest, trustworthy and loyal. If it weren’t for the fact that she was such a hard worker, I would have fired her already. So the fact that you showed that skin color doesn’t matter to you, means that you are just right for this company.” Andrew finished by motioning for Stephanie to sit by his desk.

 

Batman was patrolling on the east end of Gotham, when he got word from Nightwing and Bargirl to come onto the south end. He swung over to the house to see Batgirl standing outside. She looked at him and told him what they had found.

“Batman, it’s not good.” Batman followed her inside and stopped when he smelt the decay. Nightwing started talking to him.

“We were only able to identify them by their licenses. The decomposition was so advanced, it looks like they were killed two weeks ago.” He paused to look Batman in the eye. “You’re not going to like who they were.” Batman moved closer to the mauled corpses of the elderly couple on the floor.

“Who were they? By the looks of the wounds, they were killed by at least one werewolf.” Nightwing sighed and answered.

“Mr. Phillip Moore and his wife, Mrs. Alexis Moore.” Batman swiveled his head to look at Nightwing and Batgirl and looked once more at the bodies. “You were patrolling by yourself until Saturday, and you don’t usually don’t look for any crime this far south. So it was just luck that we caught the scent of them. I’m honestly surprised no one called the police to investigate the smell yet.” Before Batman could reply, Batgirl grabbed her head and gasped. She trembled a moment before coming back to herself.

“This wasn’t a random murder, someone did this deliberately. Something’s shifting in the balance of the city. Mob bosses and gangs, werewolves, witches, even psychics.” She looked into the eyes of her partners. “I know who did this, I just can’t figure out how this works into the bigger picture.”

“Who did this, ‘Oracle’?” Batman called his protégé by her lesser known codename. She turned to look him in the eye.

“A newly turned werewolf.” She hugged Nightwing. “And his name is Arthur Brown.” She looked once more at Batman. “Stephanie’s father.”


	6. Chapter 5: Meetings and Confusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, sorry about the long delay on this chapter. I just couldn’t work up the motivation to write. Anyway, I’m sorry to all of my readers, I’ll try to do better.
> 
> Now, I want to explain my reasoning about the concept of the ‘soul-mate’ portion of this story. I am a fan of a great series of paranormal romance novels by the author Christine Feehan. And I just love the concept of the Carpathians and their lifemates. Please don’t worry though, the ‘soul-mate’ portion will only be touched on here and there, it will not take up the whole story. 
> 
> Oh, the scene of Jarvis and Stephanie as they leave the ballroom was meant to be a sweet bonding scene. I just hope I did it justice.
> 
> Also, it was pointed out that I didn’t include any 60’s slang in this story, and the reason being, I forgot about it. No excuses, I just don’t know any 60’s slang, so please overlook it. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 5: Meetings and Confusions

Stephanie had just gone on break when Bruce heard her phone ring. Thinking it was going to be for him anyway, he walked out of his office and went to her desk. He picked up the phone and answered, and heard and agitated sigh. He waited a moment and repeated his answer, only this time he was cut off mid-sentence.

“I know damn well who you are Bruce; I just wasn’t expecting you to answer the phone. I thought you said you had a new secretary for that?” Jason. Only Jason would be that bold when talking to someone. Bruce smiled slightly, but relaxed his face, knowing Jason could hear it in his voice.

“Yes Jason, I do have a new secretary who usually answers the phone. At the moment however, she is on her lunch break. Now, is there something wrong? You usually don’t call anyone if you can avoid it.” He asked casually, knowing Jason was deliberately trying to avoid talking about what he had originally wanted to talk about. He suspected that Jason had called to tell Stephanie to relay something back to Bruce. There was another pause, before Jason gave a resigned sigh.

“I just called to tell you that I’d be swinging by tonight to meet the new girl” Bruce immediately began to smile, before Jason finished. “Don’t start smiling, just like that B. I said I’d meet the new girl, I didn’t say I’d play nice with you and Dickie. After I meet her, I’m leaving, is that clear?” Bruce frowned sadly but nodded his head anyway.

“Of course Jason, I told you that all I wanted you to do was to meet her. You’re a grown man, and I certainly can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.” I owe him that much respect at least. He heard a surprised noise, before Jason spoke again.

“Fine, just as long as we understand each other. I’m thinking I’ll just stop by around 8:00 or so. And I’m only telling you this so that you can tell Jarvis. I’m stilled furious at you and Dick makes my blood boil. Babs and Jarvis are the only ones I refuse to be rude to, understand?” At this Bruce smiled once again, only a smaller smile of fondness.

“I understand Jason, and thank you for doing this. I know you’re only doing this to see where you stand with Stephanie, but either way, I appreciate it. I’ll call Jarvis and tell Dick to keep to himself. Although, you know as well as I do, that is next to impossible to do.” Another pause, “And Jason, I know you think I don’t care, but stay safe, okay?” And Bruce hung-up the phone before Jason could start to call him a liar. Bruce sighed again, before thinking back to when Jason and stopped trusting him. 

In truth, when Jason had almost died by the hands of that psychopathic ghost ‘The Joker’, Bruce had become overwhelmed with guilt and grief. He had asked Jason if he had wanted to be converted, but Jason had said no. Bruce ignored his second son’s plea to let him die, and gave him his blood against Jason’s will. However he wasn’t aware of the secret group ‘The League of Shadows’ being near Jason’s temporary burial place. By the time he had realized, they had dug Jason’s body up and submerged it in a ‘Lazarus Pit’. The Pit made anyone who was placed in it mentally unstable, but Jason had been partially converted when they had put him in. When he emerged, his vampiric nature made it obvious to everyone to see, as he quickly killed everyone in the chamber except Ra’s Al Ghul. And then he had run away.

Ra’s confronted Bruce about what had happened, and Bruce had almost killed him, before Tabitha had stepped in. Tabitha had chastised him for attempting to convert Jason by himself, as there was a whole ritual and process to go through. She said, that there was a way a calm him down and that she was the only one who could do it. Tabitha and Bruce spent years looking for Jason and when he showed up in Gotham a few years later, it became obvious that Jason was consumed with anger and wanted to kill his ‘family’. The fight had ended with Jason badly beaten and Bruce and Dick near second death. Tabitha was able to talk some sense into Jason and was able to finish the proper conversion on him.

Even though that had been two decades ago, Bruce still felt ashamed at his actions. If he had explained that he wanted Jason to live, that he would help him through the conversion, Jason might have agreed to it. If he had watched over the grave while Jason finished the conversion process, he might not have been taken. If he had been a better father to Jason, instead of a strict task-master, Jason might not have had so much anger to begin with. So many if’s, but there was nothing to be done about it, since the past was in the past. The only way to attempt to fix this state of affairs, was to try to reintegrate him back into the family.

He just hoped Stephanie was able to help. He sighed again, and heard the door open behind him. He turned and saw Stephanie walk towards him with tears in her eyes. He mentally scolded himself to not remembering Stephanie was an empath, and a strong one to boot if she sensed his sadness all the way in the break room.

“Mr. Wayne, is everything alright? I don’t know why, but I had this strong feeling that something was wrong.” She quickly wiped her eyes and looked down at the floor, seemingly embarrassed.

“I’m alright, Miss Brown. I was just thinking of a dear old friend and how that friendship came to an end.” He paused to make sure she was looking right at him, before he added, “Miss. Brown, please keep in touch with your friends, even if you start to seemingly drift apart. Any friendship that ends bitterly can almost never be repaired.” Stephanie nodded her head in agreement.

“I know what you mean Mr. Wayne. My best friend, actually my only friend, Beth has helped me through so much. I asked Jarvis if I could call her and tell her what had happened. I didn’t mention names and I left out a few details of course, but I had to tell her I was alright. She and her parents helped me out so much after my parents died. I only wish I could repay them.” She sighed softly, “It seems I’m indebted to several people lately.” Like Falcone, the bastard.

“Well, the way things are headed, I’m sure next week you can repay them with your check.” I have to act like I don’t know about Falcone. “In any case, are you finished with lunch, or do you need a little longer? After all, it’s only been,” he made a show of looking for the clock in the office, “twenty-five minutes. You still have five minutes if you need them.” Stephanie shook her head. “Alright then, let’s get back to work.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that evening, Stephanie walked with Jarvis to the east wing. She told Babs she had seen the whole manor, but truthfully, she hadn’t seen everything. Jarvis asked if she would mind going with him to write a few things down for the next Wayne Charity Dance when it was to be held the following month. He, somewhat ashamedly confessed, that his eyes were getting bad, and that his handwriting was becoming almost illegible. Stephanie agreed, and was lead to the enormous ballroom that would host the event. She stepped inside and dropped her legal pad and pen. She looked around in awe at the size and elegance of the ballroom. Turning slowly, she took in everything and felt like she had walked into a fairytale.

“Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous, Jarvis. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a room this big before. Well, at least outside of libraries and museums, of course.” Jarvis chuckled politely. 

“This is, of course, the grand ballroom of Wayne manor. It was built when the manor was built in the early 1800’s. Less than eight years later though, a drunken guest accidently set fire to it and caused severe damage to the entire east wing. It took nearly five years to rebuild, and during reconstruction, its size was greatly expanded.” He looked at Stephanie who had a look of surprise on her face. 

 

“Wow that is incredible. Huh, the stories this ballroom could tell. I love the painting of the constellations on the ceiling. It looks so pretty and majestic.” Jarvis laughed again.

“I must agree with you about the stories. Goodness only knows what shenanigans have gone on in this very room.” He turned on the light-switch and a bright glow lit the room fully. “I must say though, this room is my least favorite to clean simply because of these blasted chandeliers. Stephanie picked up her legal pad and pen and walked back over to Jarvis.

“Yeah, I guess they are a pain to clean. There are at least six of them in here, so I can see why that is aggravating. Can’t you have professional cleaners come in and clean this? Just these chandeliers? It looks dangerous for someone to climb a ladder and hand clean them.” Jarvis nodded his head.

“It most certainly is, Miss. Stephanie. Nevertheless, it is my responsibility to make certain that everything is kept organized within Wayne manor.” Stephanie gaped at him. “Master Wayne has tried more than once to hire cleaners to take care of the chandeliers, but they never cleaned them as well as I did. Besides, at least twice, we’ve caught someone removing something from the premises that should not have been removed. Intentionally.”

“Honestly, what is this world coming to that people will steal you blind while looking you in the eye?” Stephanie shook her head sympathetically. Jarvis motioned her over to the nearest corner and started telling her what they would need to order. They spent nearly an hour going over everything that was needed. As they left, Stephanie took one last sweeping look around the room.

“This room was Master Peter’s favorite room growing up. When he was little, he used to come here when it was storming and just lay in the middle of the room. When we asked him why he did it, he would reply that it calmed him down. He said that he could come in here and look at the stars and memorize the constellations. He said the rain and thunder helped him to focus on memorizing the shapes and patterns. Almost like background noise, I suppose.” Stephanie grinned.

“Yeah, I can see what he means. It is peaceful in here.” Stephanie walked out with Jarvis after he turned out the lights. She turned to Jarvis and awkwardly cleared her throat. “Jarvis, can I ask you something unusual?” Jarvis turned to look right at her.

“Of course, Miss. Stephanie. By all means.” Stephanie sighed.

“I don’t want to sound rude though, so maybe I shouldn’t.” She turned away and began to blush.

“Miss. Stephanie, if you want to ask me something, please don’t hesitate to ask. I promise you that I will tell you if the comment is rude. Besides, you aren’t a rude person, and do your utmost not to be. Please, just ask me your question. I promise I won’t judge.” She sighed again and shyly looked at him.

“Well, the truth is, my father’s parents died when he was young. And my mother’s parents died before I got to meet them. So I never got to meet either of my grandfathers. After meeting you and talking with you, I feel as though they would have been a little like you. So I wanted to ask, is it alright to think of you as my grandfather? Even though we’re not related and you might not want me to do that.” She began to ring her hands. ”Never mind, please forget I asked. It was stupid to say and I’m sorry.”  
Jarvis looked at her slightly shocked. When he didn’t answer, she turned away and started to walk away.

“I’m sorry Jarvis. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry I said anything. I’ll just be going.” Before she could get far, his hand touched her shoulder. Turning, she saw a watery grin on his face.

“I would be delighted to have you think so highly of me. I don’t think your question was rude. I’m merely flabbergasted that you would choose me to be added to your family.” He removed his hand when she turned fully to look at him. “It has been some time since I saw either of my sons, and I know they don’t have children. So I’m not a grandfather biologically, but I would be deeply honored to have you call me yours.”

“Really? You really don’t mind if I think of you and talk to you as a grandfather? You really don’t mind?” Jarvis held his arms out and it took a few seconds before Stephanie realized what he meant.

“I only have two sons, no daughters. Therefore, I would be absolutely thrilled to call you my granddaughter.” Stephanie smiled as she felt his arms returning the hug she gave him.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At 8:00, Stephanie heard a knock on her bedroom door. She got up to answer, calling out as she went.

“Yes? Who is it?”

“Miss. Stephanie, it’s just me. Master Wayne wanted me to bring you to meet his son Peter.” Jarvis replied.

“Alright, just give me a minute, please. I’ll be right out.” Stephanie called as she checked her appearance in her mirror. “And it’s just Stephanie, remember?” She shook her head as she grinned.

“Of course Miss. Stephanie. I remember.” Jarvis replied. Satisfied with her hair, she smoothed imaginary wrinkles out of her dress one last time before heading to her door. She opened the door and saw Jarvis and nodded at him. They walked down the hallway to the study. Halfway there, Stephanie hissed and grabbed her forehead. At the study’s doorway, they could hear loud voices. (Master Bruce, Master Dick, Master Jason please do calm down, you’ve given Miss. Stephanie a headache.) A moment later the voices quieted down.

Stephanie rubbed her temples and winced. Jarvis looked at her worriedly.

“Are you alright Miss. Stephanie? I can fetch you some aspirin if you’ve a headache.” Stephanie shook her head then nodded.

“You know what? That sounds like a great idea. That headache came out of nowhere.” Jarvis nodded and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” came Andrews’s deep voice. Nodding one to Stephanie, Jarvis opened the door. Stephanie took a deep breath and lowered her hands.

“Miss. Stephanie Brown.” Jarvis introduced as she walked in. She saw Andrew behind his desk looking over some papers. John stood to the side of the desk, while Babs stood next to the fireplace. A man she hadn’t seen before, stood opposite Andrew. Andrew looked up and smiled at Stephanie.

“Ah, Miss. Brown, please come in. I’d like to introduce you to my youngest son, Peter. Pete, this is Miss. Stephanie Brown, my new secretary.” The man she hadn’t met before, turned around. The first thing she registered when she saw him was his auburn hair. Strangely, it had a patch of white hair. But it was his green eyes that held her focus. The man, Peter, seemed surprised to see her. 

“Wow, you have beautiful eyes.” It took Stephanie a few seconds to realize she had said that out loud. She clapped her hand over her mouth and blushed. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud, I’m so sorry.” Andrew smirked. Peter shook his head.

“Thank you Miss. Brown, it’s been a while since someone complimented my eyes.” (“Bruce, you bastard. You knew, how did you even know?”) He reached his hand out before her.

(“I didn’t know, Jason. Honestly, Dick was the one to guess, and even then we weren’t sure. That’s why I wanted you to meet her. And if she wasn’t your soul-mate, at least you would have met your new sister.”) Andrew turned to John and Babs. They smiled at him. Stephanie shook Peter’s hand.  
“I highly doubt that, Mr. Wayne. I mean you’re a very striking man and your eyes are so, so, captivating.” She felt her face heat up even more than it had. “Sorry you must hear that a lot.” She giggled nervously. That’s when she realized she was still shaking his hand. She looked down at their joined hands. “Uh, Mr. Wayne?” He looked at their hand and at once the let go.

“I’m sorry about that Miss. Brown. And it’s not Mr. Wayne. My name’s Peter, but you can call me Pete if you’d like.” She grinned and he felt himself smile as well. “Just please, don’t call me Petey. I don’t like that.”

“Alright then, Pete. You can call me Stephanie or Steph either works for me.” She was unaware of the mental conversation going on between the family members.

(“Oh yeah, I called that one right. He can’t take his eyes off of her.”) Dick commented.

(“Alright, calm down, one time boy wonder. Don’t forget, I saw it in a dream before you even guessed.”) Babs supplied helpfully.

(“Knock it off both of you. You were both right, so let’s just leave it at that, okay?”) Bruce cut in before an argument could break out.

(“Just shut up all of you. I’m having a hard enough time focusing on what she’s saying. So can it, will you?”) Jason added in order to end the discussion. Jarvis walked back into the room carrying a tray with a glass of water and two tablets. He cleared his throat.

“Miss. Stephanie, your aspirin.” Stephanie turned to Jarvis looking confused, before remembering her headache. She picked up the glass and the tablets.

“Thank you so much Jarvis, I really appreciate it.” She swallowed the aspirin and placed the glass on the table near the couch. Andrew cleared his throat.

“Miss. Brown, I got the parts for your car today, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to work on it until this weekend. It seems as though Pete’s reports on our potential partners are a bit more urgent then I had originally believed. I’m very sorry about the delay.” Stephanie felt her shoulders slump and started to feel sad. Pete looked at her and felt a pang of sympathy.

“Miss. Brown, Stephanie, I’m not working the rest of this week, so I can work on your car.” Her head snapped up. “What model is it? If dad says he has the parts, then I have everything I need to fix it myself.” Stephanie shook her head.

“No, you don’t have to do that Mr., I mean Pete. I really wish Mr. Wayne hadn’t decided to fix my car. I’ll just have a mechanic look at it.” John chuckled.

“Believe it or not Miss. Brown, dad doesn’t mind working on cars. In fact, he really enjoys working on them. He taught Pete everything he knows about cars. Besides, Pete needs something to do while he’s taking a vacation from work. Trust me on this, he’s better than the mechanic.” Pete looked at him with a small look of gratitude.

“I promise Steph, it’ll be no problem at all.” Pete turned to look back at Steph. “So, what do you say? Will you let me work on it? What model of car is it anyway?” Steph looked as though she would object, but only sighed in resignation.

“Alright Pete, but only since you insist. And it’s a ’58 Packard.” Pete smiled at her and she felt herself melt a little at the sight of it. At that moment, the phone rang. Slightly puzzled by who could be calling at 8:20 at night, Andrew answered the phone.

“Wayne residence, this is Andrew speaking.” There was a short pause. “Ah, yes Commissioner Loeb, how do you do sir?” Another pause. “Yes that’s right, I do know a Mrs. Alexis Moore. May I ask what this is about?” A longer pause. “I beg your pardon sir?” A look a shock came over Andrew’s face and he almost dropped the phone.

“Are you absolutely sure it’s her Commissioner? She hasn’t been to work in nearly two weeks.” Another pause. “Yes sir, I understand. Thank you for contacting me and letting me know sir.” One final pause. “The same to you too, Commissioner. Goodnight, sir.” Andrew placed the phone back in its cradle. He looked up at everyone.

“That was Commissioner Loeb. He just called to tell me that police found the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Moore. According to the evidence, they were killed in there bed nearly two weeks ago. Apparently, someone broke in, slit their throats and siced a vicious and large dog on them. They only just found the bodies today. Their bodies were mauled beyond recognition; the only way to identify them was their driver’s licenses. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time something of this nature has happened in Gotham City.” Everyone in the room gasped.

“Good gracious, I’m so sorry to hear that Mr. Wayne. I know she was your secretary for years.” Stephanie supplied as she began to wring her hands. “How awful that such a thing happened to them. Do they have any next of kin?” Andrew thought for a moment, than nodded his head.

“They have two daughters in South Caroline, I believe. Commissioner Loeb had already contacted them before calling me. That was one of the reasons for the late call. Poor Alexis, she might not have been the absolute nicest woman, but nobody deserves that.” Arthur Brown you are a phenomenal fool. And you will be brought to justice for this. And that’s not to mention what you’ve wrought on to your daughter, just so you would be in the clear. The clock in the corner chimed 8:30, and Jarvis cleared his throat.

"Seeing as it is getting rather late, perhaps we should retire for the evening. Mr. and Mrs. Moore will be properly tended to when their daughters come to take the bodies back with them. Aside from offering the most sincere of condolences, there is nothing more we can do for them, is there sir?” Jarvis looked directly into Andrews eyes.

“No Jarvis, there is something else we can do. I’ll need to meet them when they come. I’m going to personally have them flown back to South Carolina and I’ll take care of the expenses myself. It is the least I can do for them.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stephanie woke up around 11:30 to a pounding headache. She rolled over in bed to try to ease the pain. When that didn’t work, she reluctantly threw her covers to the side and got out of bed. She crossed to the window to look out and saw a shadow dart past the fence near the side entrance. She shook her head, thinking she was seeing things, and turned to her door. She stepped out into the hallway and stopped in her tracks. A chill ran down her spine as she realized how still the manor was.

It was as if there was no one else in the manor. Which was probably her mind playing tricks on her, since the others were surely asleep. Shaking her head once more only caused her headache to worsen. She went to the nearest bathroom and began to look through drawers, looking for aspirin. When she didn’t find any, she made her way downstairs. She looked once more outside and saw another shadow. It disappeared before she could focus on it, so she merely ignored it. She sighed as she felt her head throb. She knew she would sometimes get headaches if she didn’t drink enough water.

She made her way to the kitchen and went to the cabinet for a glass. She found one and filled it with water, before downing it quickly. As she was refilling it, she felt something or someone in the manor. Again, she thought this was ridiculous. But for some reason, she couldn’t shake the idea that the person had just appeared out of nowhere. She slowly drank her second glass and was trying to decide if she had had enough, or if she should have one more. She heard footsteps near the door and turned to see Jarvis. Jarvis entered and started quickly when he saw her.

“Miss. Stephanie, is something wrong? It’s rather late to be up, isn’t it?” Stephanie smiled tiredly at him and rubbed her temples. “Do you have another headache, Miss. Stephanie? I can get you some more aspirin, but I’d advise against it so soon after taking a few earlier.” He strode over to her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

“I’d like some more aspirin but I know it might not be good to take more. I woke up with a massive headache, so I thought I needed to drink some water that the headache was because of dehydration. I guess it was, since it’s getting better.” She signed. She thought back to the strange feeling of emptiness. “Jarvis, did everyone go out, this late at night? I get this feeling that no one else is here.” Jarvis started again, but composed himself.

“Miss. Stephanie, why would you ask such a question? Of course not, they’re all still in bed.” How did she know that? Master Bruce said she was an empath, but how the devil did she know that? “Perhaps it’s just your headache. Now that you’ve had some water, which I really should have known about, maybe now you can get some proper sleep. You and Master Andrew have to get up early in the morning.”

“I know you’re right about getting up early Jarvis, but this isn’t the first time that I’ve had this feeling of aloneness this late at night in the manor.” She paused and lowered her hands, seemingly struck by something. “Now that I think about it, Sunday was the only night I didn’t feel like I was alone in the manor. The first night, I woke up the use the facilities and I felt like there were other people in the manor with me. Friday it felt like there were others until after midnight, at which point it felt like I was in isolation. Sunday was the only night I didn’t feel that way.” When she looked at Jarvis he seemed like he was turning pale.

“I assure you that they are all asleep in their beds, Miss. Stephanie. Perhaps the manor seems intimidating to you and you’re writing off your nervousness as isolation. “ He looked at her and grinned at her, which calmed her down. “The first few nights here was just your nervousness about being here, but tonight? Perhaps you’re thinking about how you miss a certain striking green-eyed young man? The one you seemed to be quite taken with at dinner?” Jarvis raised his eyebrow at her in a teasing manner, and Stephanie felt her face warm up.

“He-he was just being polite to me at dinner. He’s probably always polite to ladies.” She quickly averted her gaze. “Maybe more so if they’re pretty. Besides, I’m sure he already has a special someone.” She stopped as she felt someone’s hand lift her head back up.

“Miss. Stephanie, I would appreciate it if you stopped thinking so little about yourself. You are a very pretty, very kind, funny, witty, remarkable young woman with a sunny disposition. And as your grandfather, I’m absolutely correct in my assessment of you.” Stephanie giggled and felt the last dredges of her headache disappear. “And as for Master Peter, he doesn’t have someone special in his life. I asked him if he had met someone else with him, and he stated that if he had someone to bring with him, he would had told me so I would be well prepared. Besides, it looked to me as though he was quite smitten with you this evening.”

“Do you really mean that, or are you just being polite Jarvis?” She filled her glass for the third time and placed it on the counter. “I mean, a man as good-looking as him must have woman throwing themselves at him.” Myself included, apparently. Jarvis picked her glass up with one hand and placed the other on her shoulder. He began to guide her towards the stairs.

“I promise that I’m telling the truth. I’ve never seen Master Peter so caught off guard by a woman before. I assure you, that you’re the only woman he’s ever seemed flustered by. He’s had a few ‘girlfriends’ but I haven’t seen him act so love-struck around them before. You definitely had his attention 100% this evening. Why, in fact, I’ve never seen Master Peter turn down bread before. It’s always been his favorite food, you see?” 

“Really, Jarvis?” Stephanie inquired as they started to climb the stairs.

“Absolutely, Miss. Stephanie. He’s always been fond of all types of bread, and other baked goods. But before tonight, I had never seen him turn it down. You are the only one to get him to do that.” Stephanie smiled timidly. They stopped at the top of the stairs. Jarvis handed her the glass of water.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Thank you Jarvis, you are such a lifesaver. I couldn’t ask for a better grandfather.” She yawned and laughed at herself. “At least I’m getting sleepy again. I like having long talks with you, Jarvis. We should talk like this more often. Goodnight, Jarvis.”

“I enjoy the talk as well, Miss. Stephanie. Goodnight.” Jarvis watched as she headed to her room. He stood there and waited for ten minutes, until he was certain she had indeed gone to bed. He headed back down stairs, and headed towards the music room. He played three off-key notes and a door behind a bookshelf opened. He walked through the door, pulled a wall sconce down and the bookshelf returned to its original position.

He flipped a small light-switch and followed the lights down the stairway. The last step led to a small room with a heavy door. He opened the door and walked into a cavernous room. A large supercomputer and several screens took up one section of the room. A sophisticated radio sat on the table next to it. Jarvis walked over to it and picked up the microphone.

“Base to Masters Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl & Red Hood. As soon as you all are able to, please return back to base. It’s rather important.” He waited a few minutes before there was a reply.

“Batman to base, what’s wrong?” Even over the radio, Jarvis could hear the apprehension in Batman’s voice.

“Our guest is asking questions and is starting to get suspicious.”   
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Batman had just exited the batmobile when the transmission came through. 

“Base to Masters Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl & Red Hood. As soon as you all are able to, please return back to base. It’s rather important.” He called the others back telepathically and picked up the microphone to answer.

“Batman to base, what’s wrong?”, he answered somewhat hesitantly. Batgirl and Nightwing walked closer to him while Red Hood leaned against a wall and kept a watch. 

“Our guest is asking questions and is starting to get suspicious.” Jarvis’s answer brought silence from everyone there. “While I’m not certain what happened, she was downstairs and began to tell me how she felt as if it was completely abandoned here. Apparently, she has felt this way every night except Sunday night. I believe she may be getting close to figuring the truth out. I haven’t seen her looking for anything telling, but one can never tell about these things.” Red Hood pushed off of the wall.

“What are we going to do now?” Nightwing smirked as he noticed Hood’s fists clenching and unclenching, almost as if he was worried about something. Or someone. Batgirl reached out and touched Hood’s shoulder, then turned toward her mentor.

“We can’t wait much longer, remember? We might have to tell her tomorrow about our secret identities. Either way, she’ll find out soon enough.” (“Especially since she’ll have to be turned this weekend.”) Hood whirled around to look directly at her.

(“This weekend? What the hell do you mean by that, Babs? She only just got to the manor, how is she supposed to be turned so soon?”) Hood attempted to shake Batgirl, but was blocked by a suddenly angry Nightwing.

(“First of all Jay, don’t you dare. Attacking me or Bruce is one thing, but don’t ever attack Barbara. Second, she had vision and was going to tell you once you came back to the manor. And third, you only just got back and we’ve been out looking for criminals all this time. We were going to tell you once we got back to the cave. Now, will you calm down enough to let her explain what she saw, or not?”) Nightwing reached for his eskrima sticks, in case Hood decided to attack anyway. Batman watched the showdown, before answering Jarvis.

“It’s quiet tonight, so we’ll be heading back within the hour. I want an explanation when we get back.” He watched Hood stare at Nightwing, before slowly relaxing. Batgirl stepped around Nightwing to stand in front of Red Hood.

“Very well sir, I shall expect your return within the hour. Base out.” A solitary click signaled the end of the transmission. Batman turned toward his protégé’s, ready to step in if necessary. He hoped he wouldn’t need to, especially since Red Hood had finally returned to them. Hood stepped back and raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, I made the mistake, and even though I don’t like admitting it, it was entirely my fault.” He growled softly and ground out, “I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep a level head, but keep in mind the situation I’ve just found myself in. Is that alright?” Nightwing winced and raised hands as well. 

“No, you have a point. This is a new situation for all of us. Just try to stay calm and we’ll back off, okay?” Hood sighed and nodded. Batgirl smiled and once again put her hand on Hood’s shoulder. Batman scanned every entrance and exit to the alley. He used his enhanced senses to double and triple check everything. There was nothing or no one to spy on them.

(“There’s no one here, but I’m going to check the surrounding areas, just to be sure. We can’t stay long though, or someone will spot us.”) And he jumped straight up to the top of the five story building behind him. The others nodded their understanding. Red Hood and Nightwing both lowered their hands and let Batgirl tell her story. By the end of it, Red Hood was visibly trying very hard not to lash out. 

(“She really only has until Sunday night to be human? There’s no other explanation, but that?”) He was breathing hard, but he didn’t reach for his guns, which Nightwing took for as a good sign. On the other hand, he clearly saw his younger brother’s distress. (“Did it show how she came to be beaten to near death?”) Batgirl shook her head.

(“No, only you holding her body on the night of the new moon. That’s Saturday night. In the dream she was badly beaten, but she wasn’t dead. So, if I had to venture a guess, we have to turn her Saturday night or Sunday night, it just depends on the amount of internal damage done. I’m really sorry Jason, I wish I could tell you better news.”) Batgirl watched the younger man nod before he looked her in the eye.

(“You’ve never been wrong before, Oracle, so there’s nothing you can do about your visions. What pisses me off, is the fact that she was beaten and bloody. Almost like I was.”) He sighed as he walked over to the nearest building. (“I just don’t know what to do about her.”) He turned and took off his helmet, revealing the red mask underneath it. He stared at them. (“What do you two think I should do?”)

Again Nightwing winced, remembering the first he saw Barbara after he had turned. He had become almost obsessed with her, all of his thought turned toward the woman who was his soul-mate. It had taken everything in him to turn his thoughts away from her long enough to work. After she almost died at the hands of ‘The Joker’ that cursed spiritwalker (spirit that can move between bodies whenever it chooses) and his damned Witch, Bruce had to turn her for her own sake and Dick’s sanity. He remembered the desire to talk to, hold, be near, do anything for his partner. He turned sympathicly to his younger brother.

(“Moving back into the manor to be near her will help a lot. Trust me on this, the more time you spend with her will work tremendously. Why don’t you grab some clothes from your safe house and bring them back to the manor?”) He paused when Red Hood raised an eyebrow at him. (“Well, she already thinks you’ve just come back home from a trip. So why not?”)

(“Are you sure that was for her and not you and Bruce? After all, I’m the only one who left and didn’t come back.”) Batman landed back on the ground in between them. He motioned for them to get back on the motorcycles.

(“I’m not going to lie to you Jason, I’d be delighted to have you back home. However as I said, if you want to leave, you’re free to leave at any time you want. Stephanie might be disappointed though.”) Batman shrugged his shoulder as he made his way to the batmobile. (“Although, I’d like to add that you did promise to fix her car. When exactly do you intend to do that?”)

(“Damn you Bruce Andrew Wayne. Damn you, and your manipulative, conniving ways.”) Red Hood huffed angrily as he put his helmet back on. He straddled his motorcycle. (“I’ll get back for this, just wait and see.”) He started the engine and flipped up the kickstand. (“I’ll meet you all back at the cave. You’re all just lucky I think she’s cute, or else you’d all end up with iron stakes through your hearts.”) Nightwing laughed.

(“Yeah, you just keep thinking that little brother.”) Hood grinned.

(“Ok fine, so I wouldn’t kill you. I’d just beat you and Bruce up. Oh wait, I’ve already done that.”) Hood laughed as he took off down the street.

(“Yeah, you wish you did, you jackass.”) Nightwing grinned and shook his head. Batgirl started her motorcycle and put on her helmet.

(“And how old are you exactly, Dick? Sixty-two? So why are you still acting like a child?”) The batmobile pulled out and turned right. Batgirl and Nightwing pulling out behind it.

(“That’s just part of my charm, my dear.”) He winked and sped past the batmobile. Batgirl laughed as she rode down the street.


	7. Chapter 6: Mysteries (Solved and unsolved)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of the kudos, comments and follows, it really makes me feel good. You have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you all so very much. Here’s hoping I don’t disappoint any of my readers with this chapter. A little warning, the conversation between Jason and Stephanie is kind of angsty, but it’s necessary. Afterwards, they’re going to be much happier, especially Stephanie.   
> This chapter is the longest I’ve written yet. The ending is a little bit of a cliffhanger. Anyway, here’s the newest chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 6: Mysteries (Solved and unsolved)

Stephanie was heading down the stairs at quarter after 7, the next morning. As she descended the steps, she heard someone moving around upstairs. She turned and saw Peter stretching and walking towards her. He looked up and saw her watching him. He lowered his arms and shyly scratched the back of his head.

“Fancy meeting you here.” He teased. She grinned and nodded.

“Well, if I keep bumping into you, I’ll just have to find a way to stay here.” She clapped a hand to her mouth and turned away from him. Steph, you are an absolute moron. She turned her head to apologize to him and saw he had reached the same step as her. He was enjoying this, she could tell.

“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.” Stephanie looked at him quizzically. “I meant, I like seeing you and I’d like to keep seeing you, if that’s alright with you?” He asked somewhat timidly. Stephanie lowered her hand and felt her face turn red. 

“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot, Pete. But, there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to keep my job with Mr. Wayne. Something might happen that’ll cause me to lose my job. You can never be too certain about things like that.” She replied as she lowered her head to avoid his gaze. She started down the steps with Pete a step behind her.

“What makes you say that? I understand the need for caution, but that’s no reason to be pessimistic. Besides, you don’t strike me as being a gloomy-gus.” Pete tried to lighten the mood, feeling sadness hit him at his core. He knew he was in trouble when hearing such a statement from her caused him pain. Stephanie sighed sadly.

“I’m not a gloomy-gus, Pete. I’ve just come to realize a few things this past year. I took for granted that my parents would be there if I needed them. Then they were killed in an explosion last October. My father ran afoul a very dangerous man and owed him a big debt. When they died, he came after me demanding I pay him the rest of the money.” Pete gasped at this.

“What happened? Was it the mob? Are you in trouble with them?” In truth, he already knew that part of the story. He wanted to hear more about what was going on. Steph held her hands up to hastily stop his questions. She looked around the foyer to make sure no one else was around. 

“I’d really appreciate it if you don’t say anything to anyone. It’s embarrassing to talk about how it started.” She stepped on the floor. “Please Pete, don’t tell Mr. Wayne. I don’t want anything to happen to you or your family, and I’m afraid that if I tell him, he’ll go to the police. I’ll never forgive myself if that were to happen. And in answer to your question, yes it is the mob.” She started to wring her hands in frustration.

“Steph, I’m sorry. I know it’s none of my business, I’m just worried about you. That’s all there is to it. I only just met you but I feel a connection to you. If you don’t want to tell me anything, I’m not going to push you. And I promise I won’t tell dad, alright?” Steph looked him in the eye and bit her lip. 

“Alright, I’m sorry for my outburst, I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt or killed because of me. Please don’t ask me anything else about them. I just wanted to leave the city and find a good paying job, earn the money I needed to finish paying off the debt and live as peaceful a life as I could. It was only luck the car broke down outside of the manor. But I’m glad it did, since I got to meet all of you.” Her cheeks flushed again and she walked to the dining room.

“I’m glad too, since I don’t think I’d have ever met you otherwise.” Pete stepped onto the floor and followed her. “Um, just curious, but how is it someone as beautiful and kind-hearted as you is still single?” He meant it as a joke, to see her smile again, but she stopped in her tracks and tensed.

“If I tell you, I’m afraid your opinion of me will change. That you’ll never want to speak to or see me again.” She sounded so sad, Pete gently placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“I promise I won’t Stephanie. Like I said, if there’s something you don’t want to talk about, you don’t have to. Please don’t be sad.” Pete squeezed her shoulder, giving her a soft smile. She shook her head.

“You’ll think I’m damaged goods or something.” She clapped both hands over her mouth. For the love of all that’s good, shut up Stephanie. Now he probably thinks you’re a snobby, judgmental asshole. Just shut up. “I am so sorry about that comment, Pete. When I’m around you, I just can’t keep myself from blurting out what’s on my mind. Please forgive me.”

'‘Damaged goods’, what the hell did that mean? I mean I’m glad she thinks that she doesn’t want me to think badly of her, as if my opinion is that important to her. But the way she said it sounded as if she,…'

“Stephanie, where would you get that idea? It doesn’t matter to me what a person’s background is. All I see when I look at you is a strong, smart, funny, beautiful woman. When I see you, I feel as if I can see your soul. What ever happened to you, it’s made you stronger, not whatever it is you think of yourself.” He gently placed his hands on her upper arms and waited until she looked him in the eyes. Before he could continue, she blurted out,

“Because I had a baby with my dead boyfriend Aaron.” She saw the look of surprise on his face and felt ashamed. She raised a hand and swiped it across her eyes. “Now do you see why I said that?” She sniffled. Good going, if you had just kept your mouth shut, you might have had a chance with him. No, that’s never going to happen now. She failed to notice Pete’s look of anger.

'She had a boyfriend, and had a baby with him? She only eighteen for crying out loud.' He paused when he felt her tremble under his hands. He looked at her and saw the tears gathered in her eyes. 

'Okay, calm down Jason, all you’re doing is working yourself up and upsetting her. Breathe.' He took a deep breath and let it out. 'Wait a minute, she said she’s had a bad year. She also said he was ‘dead’. That means maybe the mob had something to do with it. Then where’s the baby?' He cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Okay Stephanie, let’s take a moment to calm down. I want you to take a deep breathe with me and let it out when I do, alright?” She nodded. “Right, breathe in and hold it.” They breathed in at the same time. “Release.” They exhaled. “And again.” They breathed like that a few more times before Stephanie looked him in the eyes. She nodded her head.

“I’m alright now, I promise. Thank you. You’ve been so kind to me while I’ve been a most deplorable guest. I’d like to apologize for that, if you’d let me?” She gave him a small smile. He couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on his face.

“I think I can do that. I’m beginning to understand why you’re skittish around us, and I’m glad for your honesty. Can you answer one question for me though? Just one, and I won’t ask you anything personal ever again.” He saw her apprehension, but she nodded anyway. “Where’s the baby?” She fidgeted under his hands and bit her lip.

“My boyfriend Aaron died before I found out I was pregnant, so when she was born I gave her up for adoption. I had lost him, then I lost my parents and because Falc-,” she cut herself off. “I feared I wouldn’t be able to provide for her. And I was afraid they would find out about her and I thought she would be safer if no one knew she was my baby. So when she was born in March, I signed her over to Child Protective Services. I never saw her because I thought if I saw her, I wouldn’t be able to give her away.” She felt Pete’s grip tighten. “I failed her as a mother.”

'Breathe Jason, her circumstances are different from Sheila’s. Sheila sold you to get money from your birth father. Stephanie gave her baby up to protect her. Completely different scenario.' Pete moved closer to Stephanie and kissed her forehead.

“You did what you thought was right by your daughter. That’s not failure. And I thank you for being so honest to me. I’m sorry I made you relive that. As an apology, I’ll have your car fixed by the time you get back home from work. If you’d like, I’ll show you my favorite spot to relax on the grounds.” She smiled at him and this time it reached her eyes.

“I’d like to see it. Jarvis said your favorite room was the ballroom. And I think it’s beautiful too. I’m sorry you have to fix my car on your vacation though.” Pete slid his hands down and grabbed her hand. He motioned for her to head to the dining room. He smirked as he heard someone quickly dash away from the door. 'Eavesdroppers.'

They entered to see Andrew, John and Barbara seated and eating breakfast. Only Pete saw Andrew nod at them to admit they had indeed overheard the entire conversation. John and Barbara grinned when they noticed Pete was holding Stephanie’s hand. He shook his head as he let go of her hand to pull her seat out for her. Jarvis came out carrying two plates of waffles. Pete raised his eyebrows.

“Waffles Jarvis? Usually you bring out fruit or eggs.” Stephanie let out a surprised gasp. Her eyes lit up immediately.

“Miss. Stephanie told me yesterday that they are her favorites. So I figured everyone could have some this morning.” He turned to face Stephanie as Pete sat down. “I usually fix eggs and bacon or sausage, and fruit. I try to make certain everyone eats well.” 

“Jarvis you’re the best, thank you. They look delicious.” John nodded his head enthusiastically.

“They’re delicious. Pete you had better eat yours or they’re mine.” He teased lightly. Pete glared at his older brother and started to eat. Less than fifteen minutes later, everyone had cleared their plates.

“Steph, you had the right idea to tell Jarvis about the waffles. As always Jarvis, it was delicious.” Barbara complimented as the plates were cleared. Andrew quickly read the newspaper while the others talked quietly.

“I only told him that it’s the only thing I can make correctly and consistently every time. Anything else I make, runs the risk of being good, overcooked or undercooked. That’s the reason mom used to call me her little ‘Waffle Queen’. Silly I know, but it made me feel good knowing I could at least make that.” Stephanie grinned as she stood up. Pete stood up as well, earning a snicker from Barbara. She went back upstairs and returned a few minutes later.

Andrew folded the newspaper and stood up. A quick look at the clock read 8:10. He went upstairs as well and returned with his brief case. At 8:25 Jarvis ushered them to the door and out to the car. Pete grabbed Stephanie’s hand and kissed it before easing the door shut behind her. John and Barbara stood at the front door and waved as the car pulled out of the driveway. Pete turned to them.

“Don’t even start with me. I don’t want to hear it.” Barbara giggled from behind her hand. He shook his head and walked toward the garage.

“Oh come on, Jay. I think it’s sweet. You were acting all gentlemanly to her. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s your soul-mate.” Dick teased as he followed his younger adopted brother.

“Dick, do me a favor and jump off the top of the tallest building in Gotham. In the daylight.” Jason replied. “Did Bruce say the parts are in the garage?” Dick nodded his head.

“Yeah, he said he put them next to the car.” He paused. Jason turned to look at him. “You did well today Jason. And no, I’m being absolutely sincere. Bruce didn’t tell Babs and me about her having had a baby. He probably wanted to respect her wish to keep that to herself. Either way, I’m proud of how you kept it together after she mentioned having an ex. I know when I thought Barbara had a boyfriend, I wanted to beat the poor guy to a pulp.”

“It did piss me off. At least until it sunk in that she said he was dead. Now though, I’m curious if her daughter was adopted. Steph's dad was a moron to have gotten involved with Falcone to begin with. Either way, what’s done is done. All we can do is keep an eye on her.” Jason stopped in his tracks. “Dick, what’s that?”

“What’s what Jason?” Dick asked as he came to stand beside Jason. Jason turned to walk towards the fence near the garage. He reached the brush beside the gate.

“Is this fur, or am I losing it?” Jason relied as he pointed at the object caught in the brush. Dick came over to see. He gasped.

“That is fur. That wasn’t there yesterday, so it must have gotten snagged last night.” He turned and dashed to the side gate. He went through the gate and darted to the brush. He stopped when Jason called out.

“Dick stop, I think those are tracks.” Dick walked cautiously to the brush and sidestepped the prints in the dirt. He squatted down next to them. He nodded and looked at the next prints. He gasped again.

“Jay, they’re werewolf prints.”

 

It was shortly before noon when Stephanie heard the door open. She looked up to see a young face look around. She smiled and waved when she recognized the boy the face belonged to. He grinned when he saw her and walked over.

“Mr. Fox, it’s good to see you again. If you’re looking for your father, I think he’s still in the meeting with Mr. Wayne. Feel free to sit and wait if you want to.” Stephanie pointed to the three chairs next to her desk. The boy nodded and sat down.

“It’s Lucius, Miss. Brown. Dad left without his lunch this morning and grandma said she didn’t mind if I ran it here. Is it alright if I left it with you, ma’am?” Lucius asked politely. Stephanie laughed and nodded her head.

“Alright Lucius, but it’s Stephanie or Steph, okay?” Lucius grinned. “Is your grandma waiting for you right now?” He shook his head.

“We live four blocks away from here. I just wanted to bring dad his lunch. I can’t stay too long though or else I’ll worry her.” Stephanie nodded and held her hand out. “You really don’t mind holding it for him Miss. Stephanie? I don’t want to get you in trouble.” Stephanie shook her head.

“I don’t mind in the least and no I won’t get in trouble. How’s your arm by the way? Is it giving you any problems?” She asked as he handed her the lunch pail.

“It’s good, a little sore, but that’s all. Nothing to complain about. Well, I guess I’d better get back home then. Thanks again ma’am.” He got up and headed back towards the door. Stephanie though and called out.

“Lucius, hang on a minute.” She bent down to retrieve something. “Here, I packed an extra apple in case I saw you today. I thought of you when I saw it. ‘An apple a day, keeps the doctor away’, you know?” She held out a red apple. He looked at it a minute, before he walked back towards it.

“Are you sure Miss. Stephanie, I don’t want to just take your food like that.” She laughed again.

“Really, I don’t mind. I promise I packed this extra to give to you if I saw you today. It’s no trouble at all.” He reached for it reluctantly. He picked it up and grinned.

“If you’re sure Miss. Stephanie, then I accept. Thank you very much.” At that moment, Mr. Wayne and Samuel came into the room. Samuel looked up and saw Lucius standing in front of Stephanie’s desk. Before he could say something, Mr. Wayne spoke first.

“Lucius, it’s good to see you again. Is everything alright at home?” He knew Samuel moved his mother in to live with him shortly after her husband had passed away. She was like a second mother to Lucius and was the only maternal figure since his mother had died.

“Yes sir, Mr. Wayne. Everything’s fine. Dad just left his lunch pail at home and grandma and I wanted to make sure he got it. I asked Miss. Stephanie if she minded giving it to you and she said she didn’t mind at all. Look, she said she packed an extra apple to give to me if I came today. She’s really nice.” Samuel heaved a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for bringing it, Lucius. Did you thank Miss. Stephanie for the apple?” He looked at Stephanie, who nodded.

“Yes sir he did. You’ve raised him to be a very polite young man.” Lucius ducked his head shyly. Mr. Wayne grinned at the sight.

“Yes Samuel, you surely did.” Lucius grinned again.

“I guess I better go, or else grandma might get worried.” He hugged his dad and headed to the door. “Goodbye Mr. Wayne. Goodbye Miss. Stephanie, I hope I’ll see you again. Bye dad, I’ll see you at supper.” He waved once more and went out the door. Samuel waved and sighed.

“I honestly don’t know where he gets his energy. We spent Monday afternoon and yesterday evening at the park, having a good time. Being together and talking. I think I pushed him on the swings for a good two hours and then chased him as we played tag. I haven’t had that much fun in a while. I know he enjoyed it too.” He turned to look Andrew in the eyes. “”I’m forever grateful you made me take those two days off.”

“I’m a father too Samuel. Trust me, I know how hard it is to take some time off to be with your kids. But it’s easily one of the greatest things in the world.” Mr. Wayne looked at Stephanie, who had turned back to her typewriter. Mentally, he winced, so he changed the subject. “Anyway, what did you pack for lunch?” He felt juvenile asking such a question, but Samuel laughed.

“We had meatloaf last night, so it’s left overs. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy.” Andrew laughed.

“Wanna trade? I brought salad. That’s it.” Samuel laughed. “Well, I eat a big breakfast and dinner. I just can’t eat at lunch.” He shrugged his shoulders as Samuel took his lunch from Stephanie’s desk.

“Thank you for watching this for me Miss. Brown. And thank you for sharing your lunch with Lucius. You didn’t have to.” 

“It was my pleasure, Mr. Fox. And it was only an apple. I thought about bringing the apple and giving it to you to give to him when you got home. I thought it might be good for a growing boy like him, so I brought an extra. Besides, it’s like I told him, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’, so why not.” She grinned.

“Either way, thank you again. I appreciate it.” Samuel replied as he walked towards the door that lead to the break room. 

“So, no trade then?” Andrew asked before he got too far. Samuel and Stephanie laughed, as Samuel shook his head. Andrew jokingly huffed. “Well, you don’t know what you’re missing.” And turned and went into his office trying not to laugh as well.

 

As the car pulled back into the driveway, Stephanie saw someone leaning over under the hood of her car. It took her a minute to remember it was Pete. She stared a minute, and felt her face heat up. He was wearing tight pants, which showed off his behind very well. She had to turn her gaze away, only to catch sight of Andrew looking at her with a smirk on his face. 'Uh oh, busted.'   
Andrew shook his head and said nothing. The car come to a stop, just as Pete stood up and replaced the hood. Jarvis opened her door and she stepped out in time to see Pete turn around and grin at her.

“She’s all fixed. It was just a faulty fuel pump. It didn’t take long to fix. I was only checking to make sure nothing else needed to be worked on.” Stephanie nodded.

“Thanks Pete, I appreciate you doing that. I’m just sorry you had to get dirty for me.” She clapped her hand over her mouth and groaned. Pete laughed out loud. “That’s not what I meant to say. I meant to say, I’m sorry you had to get dirty because of me.”

“I know what you meant, Steph. Although I wouldn’t mind getting dirty with you sometime.” His face flushed. “That came out wrong. ‘I don’t mind getting dirty if it helps someone, is what I wanted to say.” Stephanie shyly nodded her head and head to towards the door. Pete followed her.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate you working on my car Pete. It means a lot to me that you did it.” She looked at him and quickly kissed him on the check. She blushed and darted inside. Pete stood there and raised a hand to touch the place she kissed. He smiled softly before he headed in as well.

John looked smugly at him as he walked in. Pete flicked his hand under his chin at his brother. Barbara snorted at the scene and rolled her eyes. Pete called out to Andrew.

“Dad, can John and I talk to you a minute. Andrew, who was halfway up the stars, turned and motioned towards the study. 

“Of course you can. Let’s head to the study.” Pete nodded and looked for Stephanie. She was heading towards the library where Barbara was standing.

“Steph, I haven’t forgotten about what I said earlier. I need to talk to dad, and then take a bath. I’ll take you to my favorite spot before dinner, alright?” She had turned to look at him when she heard him call out to her. She nodded her agreement.

“I’ll see you later, then.”

 

Stephanie was reading her book, talking to Barbara, when a knock at the door drew they’re attention. Pete stood there and walked toward Steph. He held his hand out as he got there.

“Are you ready to go? It’s not too far, about half a mile, but it’s on flat ground. So you don’t have to worry about a hike.” Stephanie placed her bookmark and laid her book on the table she was reading at. She took Pete’s hand and he helped her stand up.

“You two have fun now, and don’t get into any trouble, understand? And no hanky-panky, okay?” Barbara waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Stephanie turned red in the face and Pete made a choking noise. 

(“’No hanky-panky, was that really necessary Babs? Now you’ve embarrassed her. And I’m embarrassed to. I hope you’re happy.”) Jason asked mentally.

(“Oh calm down Jay, I’m teasing you both. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to remind you to take it slow. I know you won’t do anything like that, but she’s still human. I’m just making sure you remember that.”) Answered. ‘Pete’ stiffened slightly but nodded all the same. He gently tugged at Stephanie’s hand and led her towards the door.

Barbara waited until she heard the open then shut and moved upstairs to the study. She saw Bruce and Dick still in there.

“Did you tell him?” Dick nodded and turned to look at Bruce. 

“Babs had a thought after we told her today. She seems to think the werewolf was the same one Steph saw Friday night. In fact, she thinks its Arthur Brown, which makes perfect sense. From the inside, the gate shows a person’s true nature. That’s the only way the werewolf would have been revealed as such on a night other than the full moon. And there’s also the fact that her father would be the only one to sniff her out to the manor. He’s newly turned, so his sense of smell is almost overpowering to him.”

“Dick’s right, Arthur Brown is the only one who can find his daughters scent and track it this far. Of course, he couldn’t see her inside the manor, but he knew she was here. That’s why she saw him looking ‘at’ her. And, since he hadn’t killed someone that night and had left before we got to the gate, his scent was long gone. She’s safe as long as she’s behind the barrier, so if we can keep her inside, she might not need to be turned so soon.” Barbara hugged her arms. Dick moved to wrap his arms around her.

“No, none of your visions have been wrong before Barbara. If you saw her dying on the night of the new moon, we only have four nights, three nights after tonight, to prepare. I just need to know how she got in that shape to begin with. Since she first walked through that gate, she hasn’t left alone. So what changes? Keep your eyes on her through Saturday, both of you.” They both nodded in agreement.

The clock struck 8:30. Bruce looked at it, before looking at the couple. “Dick, I want you, Jason and Barbra to go out without me tonight. Jarvis said Stephanie felt him suddenly appear from somewhere he hadn’t been before. He said she told him she felt as if there wasn’t anyone else in the manor. I’m going to stay here tonight and go over a few things with her, to distract her. If that doesn’t work, than I’m going to have to compel her to go to bed and stay asleep until morning.”

“Bruce, are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean staying home is a good idea, but compelling her? She might try to resist you. What if you push too hard and she breaks? I’m not saying she’s fragile, but we don’t know her limits. Maybe we should just tell her who we are. She’s going to find out anyway.” Dick suggested cautiously. Barbara nodded in agreement.

“We’re going to have to tell her eventually. We might as well tell her tonight. Maybe by telling her, she can avoid almost dying Saturday night.” Bruce sighed.

“And what if by telling her, we push her to her fate? I don’t want to see her or anyone of you get hurt, I’m just not sure what to do.” He looked at Barbara. “Not tonight, let’s just stick to what I said earlier.” He held up his hand as Dick and Barbara began to interrupt him. “Tomorrow. We’ll tell her tomorrow.”  
Dick wanted to interrupt, but Barbara agreed.

“Alright, we tell her tomorrow evening. That way we can show her that we’re telling the truth. But if we tell her we’re vampires, we need to tell her about Batman as well.” Dick whipped his head to look at Bruce. Bruce winced a little, but reluctantly agreed.

“Alright, we’ll tell her everything, except her impending vampirism. Does that sound fair to the both of you?” They smiled at each other and back at him. They nodded.

 

Stephanie became tired all on her own that night, going to bed before the others went out. Bruce made sure she was asleep and stayed in the study in case she woke up in the middle of the night again.

Nightwing, Batgirl and Red Hood raced across the rooftops. Every time they stopped a crime, they found themselves working together perfectly just like old times. They came to a stop on one of the buildings in Red Hood’s territory. Hood, who had been in a very good mood hadn’t even drawn his guns that night. Nightwing couldn’t resist the need to tease his younger brother.

“Well, you’re sure in a good mood tonight. Makes me wonder if you two did more than watch the ducks swim on lake from the old treehouse. Granted, it is a beautiful scene, but still.” Batgirl slapped him in the arm as Hood bristled.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Night-moron, but we did just sit there and watch the ducks on the lake. I would never try to force myself on anyone like, dumbass.” He huffed angrily. Nightwing threw up his hands in a placating manner.

“Alright Hood, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything rude like that, just a little curious is all.” Hood scoffed at him. “I know you’ve been nothing but a gentleman since you meet her. It sounds to me like you’re in love with her. And I’m glad you are.” Hood reached up and removed his helmet. He turned to look at the others.

“Normally I’d say mind you own business, but I know you’d say that this is your business. So just shut up and leave it alone, would you?” He took a few steps away from them before turning. “And for your information,” he started to smile, “I am in love with her, okay?” Nightwing felt Batgirl stiffen beside him. She relaxed a minute later.

“We’re glad to hear it Hood. And we wish you good luck.” Batgirl turned to look at Nightwing and winked at him.

(“That was it wasn’t it?”) Nightwing asked her mentally. She nodded her confirmation.

 

Stephanie woke up at quarter until 2:00, gasping for breath. She was clutching her upper left arm. She fought to slow her breathing and slowly threw her covers off of her. She felt a wave of nausea as she tried to stand up. She waited a minute to be sure it had passed before standing and slowly making it to her door. The pain she was feeling wasn’t her own, she wasn’t sure how she knew that, but she knew. She opened her door and slowly made her way down the hallway.

As she made her way towards the stairs, she heard loud words. She couldn’t make them out, but she knew they were coming from the study. As she made her way to the study, the pain magnified. She swallowed back the taste of bile at the back of her throat. She saw the study door was open and the light was still on. She made her way to the door and saw no one there. She peeked inside and saw the grandfather clock pulled to the side to reveal a hidden door.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way to the door. She looked at the door and saw it hid a small room of some sort. She stepped inside and saw a light fixture. She pulled the chain and saw a door at the other side of the room. She looked at the clock and pulled it back to its original spot. Satisfied, she headed to the other door and opened it. This time, she saw an elevator slowly making it ascent back up. She watched it returned and felt a wave of pain so strong, she doubled over. She took a minute to catch her breath and headed to the elevator.

She stepped in and saw it was operated with a lever. She guessed she needed to pull it forward to go down. So she pushed it forward and was rewarded with a swift descent. She felt her stomach rise towards her throat, but swallowed once again. The elevator touched down and she cautiously stepped out of the car. She walked slowly down the lit passage and found herself in a cave of some sort. She went to touch the rock wall she was closest to, but she heard a loud cry which startled her. She turned and headed to the sound and found herself in an enormous cavern.

She made to head to the sound, when she heard someone talking.

“Alright, now you need to feed. We’ve removed the iron and you’re already healing. Just drink it slowly.” Stephanie made her way quietly toward a curtained off corner of the cavern.

“You think I don’t know that? I know I need to feed. I’m not a complete moron, you know?” Stephanie stopped in her tracks a short distance away from the curtain. 'That was Pete. He’s hurt? What’s going on here?'

“I didn’t say you were a moron Jason. I’m just making certain that you’ll feed. I know you have a tendency to try and shrug off injuries like this. If you were a human, you would have died already. Those wounds were severe.” 'Jason? That’s Pete, isn’t it?'

“Bruce you should have seen it, those werewolf bastards lit into us like there was no tomorrow. Jason took the brunt of the attack and nearly lost his arm to the iron bullets. They knew we were there.” 'Wait is that John? Then who’s Bruce? Werewolves, what the hell’s going on here?'

Stephanie walked to the curtain and eased it back. She gasped as she saw Pete with his mouth on Andrew’s wrist. It looked as if his left arm was riddled with holes. He looked up at her gasp and she saw red eyes. He pulled away from the wrist and blood dripped from his fangs. 'Fangs. What the hell have I gotten into now?' He looked shocked as he looked at her.

She hazarded a glance around and saw Barbara and John there as well. They all looked at her in shock. She slowly took a breath and asked.

“What in the Sam hell is going on here?” She breathed rapidly. John winced and moved toward her. She stepped back from him. She looked at ‘Pete’ and saw him look down dejectedly. She felt really bad about seeing him like that and realized what position she had placed herself in. John reached out to her.

“Stephanie, we can explain, we just need you to keep calm.” She didn’t reply, so he looked at Andrew. Andrew nodded and pushed ‘Pete’ back to his wrist. John turned back to Stephanie, who was watching as ‘Pete’ refused to drink any more blood. Like he was ashamed. Because of her. She took a steadying breath and stepped toward Pete.

“How much blood does he need?” She heard the collective gasps. Pete looked back to her, seemingly searching her eyes for something. She swallowed nervously, and took another steadying breath.

“What do you mean Miss. Brown? He needs quite a lot and it’ll take all of us to restore the blood lost.” Andrew replied. “Why aren’t you running away screaming?” Stephanie looked at him and saw concerned blue eyes. 'Blue, I knew they weren’t brown.' She smiled slightly.

“I scared out of my wits, Mr. Wayne, but I’m not going to turn my back on someone I care about.” She looked at Pete once again, and tilted her head at an angle. She heard him gasp as he saw her jugular exposed.

“Steph, don’t do this. You have no idea what you’re doing right now.” She looked him in the eye.

“Will this turn me into a vampire as well?” He shook his head. Barbara answered in his stead.

"No, only drinking vampiric blood does that. To be specific, you’d have to drink the clan leader’s blood to turn.” Stephanie let out a sigh of relief. She nodded and closed her eyes.

“Then do it. All I ask is that you lessen the pain as much as you can, alright?” She didn’t open her eyes. She just stood there.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Stephanie? You can just walk away right now, “ Pete started. She cut him off.

“No I can’t. You’re still in pain, and your pain woke me up. I want to do this, just without the pain, if you can please?” She still didn’t open her eyes. She heard him shift on the bed he was sitting on. She heard him stand up and walk to her. He wrapped his hand to gently adjust her head. 

“I can put you to sleep and you won’t feel it at all. I need to look into your eyes though, if you still want to?” He asked so timidly, her heart went out to him. She opened her eyes and grinned at him. “Do you offer freely of your own free will, you have to say it to be certain?” She touched the white patch in his hair.

“Yes, I Stephanie Nicole Brown, freely offer my blood of my own free will.” His eyes shifted back to green for a few seconds before going completely black. A few seconds later, she felt her knees go weak and she knew no more.

 

It was raining hard when Stephanie woke up. She felt as if her limbs were made of lead, but she turned her head and didn’t see the nightstand beside her bed. She looked around and realized she wasn’t in her room. She started to panic as the events of earlier came back to her. She looked around the room and saw a figure sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. She squinted to see better in the dark and saw a patch of white hair on the head resting on his chest. 

She sighed in relief as she sat up. Something wet fell off of her head and landed on her hand. Pete shifted and looked up in time to catch her eye. He froze a minute and stared at her in surprise. She squirmed awkwardly and cleared her throat.

“Where am I?” she winced at the scratchy quality of her voice. That seemed to spur Pete into action. He quickly stood up and picked up the glass of water on the nightstand. He sat on the side of the bed and handed her the glass. She took it and gingerly sipped from the glass. She drank half of it and handed it back to him. He placed it back on to the night stand. 

“Why did you do it?” She looked at him quizzically. “I lost a lot of blood, I didn’t have very good control of my appetite. I could have killed you because of what you did.” He turned away from her ashamed. He clenched his hands around the material of his pants. He shook slightly. She gently reached out and touched his arm. He tensed, but didn’t move.

“I meant what I said. I wasn’t about to turn my back on someone I care about, not when there was something could do to help. I don’t know you very well, but I care about you already. You were in pain, and I wanted to see you not be in pain, alright? You needed blood, so I gave it to you. That’s all there is.” He shook his head and he turned to look at her.

“I could have killed you though. I could have drained you of all of your blood. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself then.” He locked eyes with her. “How could you have done something like that so easily? I don’t understand?” She moved to sit on her knees.

“Because, somehow, I’ve fallen in love with you. Even though we met less than 48 hours ago, I’ve fallen head over heels in love for you. And that was the only way I could think of to let you know I trusted you. I still trust you, Pete.” She crawled over to him and after a moment’s hesitation, she kissed him on the lips. She saw his eyes widen in surprise, before they closed and he let his tongue brush against her lips. She opened her lips and let him deepen the kiss. Before he could do anything more, she backed away clutching at her head.

“What’s wrong? Should I have not done that, or,” She held up a hand to stop his questions.

“I’m fine, just a little dizzy.” 'Stupid dizziness, why couldn’t you have waited until the kiss ended.' She heard a little laugh and looked up to see Pete grinning at her. She looked at him curiously.

“When I drank your blood, I became able to hear your thoughts. Sorry about that.” Steph felt her face heat up. And another bout of dizziness had her clenching her eyes shut. “Maybe I should let you get some more sleep. I took roughly a third of your blood. Sleep should help with the dizziness.” He said as he stood to walk out of, what she guessed was his own room.  
'Jason?' She remembered suddenly. She looked to him and saw him standing there, watching her. 

“Pete’s not your real name, is it?” She looked at him. He sighed. He stood there a moment more, and headed back to the bed.

“Yes, it is. It’s just not what everyone calls me. We have half an hour until sunrise causes us to lose our vampiric abilities. Dad, Bruce rather, wants to talk to you, if you feel up to it?” He looked into her eyes as she thought about it. She nodded once.

“Yes, if it’s alright, I’d like to hear the truth. All of it if possible.” He nodded and blurred before her eyes. She felt him lift her in a bridal carry. He looked at her.

“Is this alright with you?” He asked. She paused a moment. She replied by wrapping her arms around his neck. He breathed in and moved so fast, the next time she blinked she was being placed on the couch in the study. She looked up to see Andrew, Barbara and John looking at her apprehensively. John came over and pulled an old comforter from the back of the couch and wrapping her loosely in it.

“Ready for story time now?” he asked her cheerfully. She curled her fingers in the soft comforter and nodded.

“If it’s not too much, I’d like to hear the truth, please?” She looked at them all. They nodded at her and took seats. Andrew took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

“Alright, let’s start with our names. I go by Andrew now, but my full name is Bruce Andrew Wayne. I prefer to go by Bruce, so now that you know, you can call me Bruce in private. It’s important that people not know that I’m a vampire, so please don’t tell anyone.” He waited until Steph nodded. “I was born in October of 1859. And I was turned in June of 1882.” Stephanie gaped at him, but didn’t interrupt.

“I met Dick, Richard John Grayson when he was nine in 1911.” He indicated John who flashed a small salute and grinned cheekily. “We met nine year old Barbara Keane Gordon the next year.” Babs waved as well. “I turned Dick when he almost died of tuberculosis in 1923. I turned Barbara the following year.” 

“The first time I met Jason Peter Todd, in April of 1935, he was stealing the wheels off of the batmobile. I took him to the nearest boys home and thought that was that. The next month, he came here seeking a safe haven from bullies. It took Jarvis almost three weeks to nurse him back to health. He stayed after that. He almost died in August of 1941. I attempted to turn him, but the ritual we use to change someone into vampires, was interrupted. It would be another three years before that particular wrong was mostly righted.”

“And that is the briefest I can make our story. If you’re certain you’re up for it, it could take the rest of the day. Are you sure you want the whole story, Miss. Brown?” he asked hesitantly. Stephanie thought about it for a few minutes.

“As hard as the rain is coming down right now, I doubt anyone will be at the office. Which means you have a day off. So please, Mr. Wayne, I’d like to hear the whole story, from the beginning all the way to the end, if that’s alright with you?” Andrew, Bruce locked eyes with her and nodded.

“Alright, from the very beginning then.” He paused to take a breath. “I was born to Thomas and Martha Wayne, October 7, 1859.”


	8. Chapter 7: The Past Revealed (Bruce's Part)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I’m really, super, duper, extremely sorry about the delay. I tried to get this written and posted on my birthday (8/30) as a birthday present to my readers. Guess what, that didn’t work out so well. I’m really sorry, and I’ll try to do better. Also, Tabitha is the only character I own, so please bear with me when she’s in the scene. When I first thought about her, I was loosely inspired by ‘Tia Dalma’ from POTC. Even though, Tabitha isn’t a voodoo priestess. That will be in this chapter.
> 
> The next two-four chapters might take a while to write and release. Never the less, I’m going to do everything I can to get motivated to write then ASAP. I’m apologizing in advance for making Bruce seem less intelligent then he is in the comics. I’m nowhere near his level, and this is the best I can write these chapters without leaving anything out. I kinda skip over a lot of things about Bruce growing up, because I can’t think of anything to write about. Sorry. That being said, I only ever imagined Bruce’s confrontation with Joe Chill and Tabitha’s parts, so that’s what I’m gonna write.
> 
> These chapters are going to be about the respective character’s past before and after they were turned. In this chapter, we’ll get an understanding about the ‘curse’ the Wayne family (or clan as it were) suffers from. More might come later on in the story. Also, I kinda rewrote part of the prologue, but from Bruce’s perspective, as he’s telling the story. I tried to make it slightly different, so please don’t hate it. I’m going to apologize for stopping the story at various parts and getting back to ‘the current time’. Sorry again, just trying to put little breathers in the chapter.
> 
> I would like to give a big, warm thank you to AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 11 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. I truly appreciate all of you. Seriously, you all have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you all so much, I sincerely hope I don’t disappoint any of you. 
> 
> One last note, I do mention church in this chapter. Only to tell about Bruce’s curse. Since he’s trying to redeem himself for killing Joe Chill and being turned into a vampire, he can potentially go to church. If that bothers someone, I’m sorry. He still has his soul, so he can go if he wants to. If he didn’t have a soul, he’d burn to a crisp.

Chapter 7: The Past Revealed (Bruce’s Part)

“Alright, from the very beginning then.” He paused to take a breath. “I was born to Thomas and Martha Wayne, October 7, 1859.” A throat cleared and drew everybody’s attention to the door. Jarvis stood at attention in the doorway and waited to be acknowledged. Andrew, Bruce rather, merely nodded his head. “Jarvis do come in. Miss. Brown is safe in here and waiting for our story.”

“As I had hoped the case may be, sir.” Jarvis turned to Stephanie, who had burrowed in to the comforter. “I only came to ask if Miss. Stephanie wanted something to eat or drink. I dare say you’ll need it if you’re settling in for the long haul.” Before she could decline the offer, her stomach grumbled. Embarrassed, she nodded her head.

“I suppose a few hard-boiled eggs wouldn’t hurt, if that’s alright?” She tilted her head in question. Jarvis grinned.

“But of course Miss. Stephanie. Hard-boiled eggs shan’t be a problem.” He turned to the others. “Due to being vampires, they don’t usually eat much. However, if anyone here wants any breakfast, I’ll gladly see it gets done.” Stephanie looked at Bruce.

“Vampires don’t eat much? I thought vampires only drank blood.” Bruce shook his head.

“Normally vampires only drink blood; however I was cursed to become a vampire, so our circumstances are different. It took a few years before I was able to eat like a human and even then only small amounts at a time. For the most part, we only eat at parties and such. We hardly ever eat breakfast, or dinner.” Stephanie nodded. 

“Very well, I shall bring Miss. Stephanie’s breakfast only then.” He looked around one last time, getting four heads shaken at him. He swiftly turned and went back out of the room. Bruce cleared his throat and started again.

(“I was born to Thomas and Martha Wayne, October 7, 1859. I was an only child and was doted on by my parents. My father was a doctor, and was often busy with work. Never the less, he did everything he could to spend time with my mother and I. My parents were abolitionists and even worked tunnels into the caves below as part of the Underground Railroad. Things were hard after the civil war, since both sides sustained heavy casualties. But my father didn’t stop working and tending to anyone how came to his office.

“The day I turned eight years old, there was a traveling opera troupe that just happened to be preforming in Gotham. I begged my father and mother to go see it, and they initially said no. However, father was off from the hospital that night, and decided we should go. We went to see the opera, ‘The Bohemian Girl’. I enjoyed it immensely and began parroting lines after we left the theatre. I believe the troupe had seen the play in London a decade earlier, and had gained permission to perform it independently.

“All I know for certain is that we were walking down the alley a short distance from the theatre. We never heard the two men until they were standing before us. The older man pulled a gun an aimed it at us. ’Hand over you money, you pathetic abolitionists. No need for blood shed, if you hand over your money.’ Father reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his wallet .I remember my mother pulled me close to her side. The younger man looked at my mother.

“‘Look at the nice jewelry she’s got on. I bet that’d fetch a high price.’ I don’t recall what the older man said next but they started to fight over the revolver. During the fight, my father started to pull us away, but before we got far, we heard a gunshot. I turned and looked and saw the older man was laying dead on the ground, the younger man looking in shock at the man. He whipped around and pointed the gun at my father and shot him. My mother screamed and collapsed to the ground next to him.

“The man yelled at my mother to shut up, or he’d shot me next. She grabbed me and held me tightly to her, but quieted down. He demanded the money again and mother trembled as she reached for my father’s wallet. Before she reached it, he stalked over and grabbed her pearl necklace. ‘I want this too.’ She tried to undo the clasp, but voices drew his attention towards his back. 

“I think he panicked, either way, he ripped mother’s necklace off and shot her in the forehead. He took off running and never looked back. The voices belonged to two police officers. They tried to pull me away from my parents, but failed. Our butler at the time was Jarvis’s grandfather, Reginald Pennyworth, was the only one who was able to coax me away. 

“The police searched the dead man’s body, and found him to be Oscar Campbell. There was also a note that simply said, ‘meet Joe Chill, gotham theatre, 7-10-67’. They said the younger man’s name was Joe Chill; he was the man who murdered my parents. It would be ten years before I would be able to leave to track him down. It’s not commonly known, but I was born with psychometry. In other words, if I touch something I can see images of the person who touched or owned it. I usually try to not use that ability too much.

“Growing up, I became obsessed with finding him and making sure he paid for killing my parents spent those years learning everything I could in order to hunt him down and bring him to justice. Only, as I hit my teens, I lost the desire for justice and wanted him to die. Reggie and his son Edmund tried to talk me out of this, but I stubbornly refused to listen. So when I turned 18, I went to the police to ask about Mr. Chill. There wasn’t much to find out, other than he had previously lived in a rundown apartment. Any trace of the man was gone due to carelessness or destruction of evidence. The only thing I could find to start looking for him was a letter from relatives in Europe.

“I left Edmund, having taken over his father’s role as butler, in charge of the manor and traveled across the ocean. It was slow going but I eventually found him and almost got him arrested. Somehow he was able to escape, and kept from being arrested. I followed him wherever he went. I almost had him a few times along the way, but he always gave me the slip. I bought a revolver so that I could use it to kill him. I didn’t see it at the time, but my desire to see him dead caused me to come extremely close to dying myself.

“During my teenage years, I studied under several fighting instructors. They told me nothing would ever come of losing my head, or giving into revenge. I didn’t listen to any of them. I chased him for two years in Europe before he ran to Africa. Everywhere I went, he was either still there, or had just left. I’m not sure how I avoided catching Malaria or yellow fever, but I still was wearing myself down. In one of the villages I came to, a short African woman stopped me in the street.

“She looked me dead in the eye and crooked her finger to motion me to follow her. I shook my head and made to walk past her, but her words somehow managed to pierce into my brain.

“I know whom you seek, Mr. Wayne, but you will not be satisfied with only his death.” The only people along the way who knew who I was were guides and translators. So the fact this woman, whom I had never met, knew who I was, startled me. I was beginning to get curious, so I followed her. She led me to a shack filled with pottery, bells, bones, herbs and incense. She led me to a table in the back and had me sit in one of the chairs.

“You look as though you are curious as to how I know your business, Mr. Wayne. I saw you and your ill begotten pursuit in the bones. And I saw your death at his hands. Stop this foolish quest, go home and start a family of your own. That is where you will find your true justice.” I snarled at her, and seeing the bones, it hit me that she was a witch of some kind. 

”You don’t know the first thing about my ‘quest’, witch. Leave me be.” I stood to leave, but her hand gripped my arm in a vice grip and I couldn’t free myself. She stared angrily at me, and spoke with a steadfast certainty.

“I know you wish to spill his blood, Mr. Wayne. You desire to see him die the same way he killed your parents.” I stilled and looked at her in shock. Seeing that she had gotten through to me with her words, her face shifted to one of understanding. She motioned for me to sit back down. I sat down as she pulled a deck of cards from somewhere to her left. She shuffled the cards and began to draw. She looked at them and sighed.

“I see a lot of death in your future, Mr. Wayne. I see you will confront the man who killed your parents, and I see you will lose your way. You, a man once filled with a desire to see justice served, soon reduced to a mindless slave to revenge. You will become the very thing you so hate. It’s not too late to stop now and leave.” She looked up at me, looked through me and said, “This isn’t what your parents would have wanted for you.”

“I scoffed and brushed her comments aside. “It is too late I have nothing left to live for. I’m not a kind man, so what woman would want me? I’ve no desire to have children, as I can’t relate to them. I’m no businessman nor am I a public speaker. As for my parents,” I paused a moment. “I’m hunting Joe Chill down for them. So that they can rest at peace.” She shook her head at me.

“They wouldn’t want their only child to kill himself like this. They would have wanted you to move on with your life. They would have wanted you to be happy and settle down. Don’t you see? You’re not doing this for them; you’re doing this for yourself.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. “You need to stop torturing yourself, Mr. Wayne.”

“I jerked my hand away and stood up again. This time she didn’t reach for me and I was glad. She spoke to me one last time before I walked out of her hut. “You’ll see Mr. Wayne. Once you do this, there’s no going back.”)

Bruce paused in his story telling to see Stephanie watching him with her full attention. He glanced at the others and saw Dick and Barbara sitting on the other couch. They were holding hands and watching him as well. Bruce had told Dick the story about how he had become a vampire, but this was the first time Babs was hearing it in such detail. Jason, who had started the story leaning against the far wall, was now sitting on the opposite end of the couch close to Stephanie. While he was listening closely, his gaze kept glancing to Steph. This was the first time Jason had heard this part of the story as well.

Jarvis came in and brought Stephanie’s eggs. Before he left though, Bruce looked at him.

“Jarvis, would you like to stay and hear the rest of my story? I’m sure Edmund filled you in about what happened before I left for Europe. But I’m sure I didn’t tell him everything. It was too new, and there was too much to work on when I got back.” Jarvis looked as though he would object, but Bruce answered for him. “I want you to stay and listen to this, Jarvis. Please?”

Jarvis looked torn at first, but soon agreed and settled himself down in the comfiest chair in the study. Bruce smiled before continuing his narrative.

(“I ignored her of course, and continued to track Chill. Along the way, I started to come across bodies that had been drained of all their blood as well as bodies mauled beyond recognition. One night, after a particularly long day I was setting up camp, when I heard this god awful, blood-curdling scream. I was alone, and all I had for protection was the revolver. Curiosity has always been my biggest weakness. So I went in search of the scream, thinking that if it were someone in need, I’d help them. Instead, I encountered my first vampire.

“Sufficed to say, he wasn’t like we are now. He had screamed in order to try and lure any prey out to him. I was the only one near him at the time. He turned, saw me and attacked me. One second he was 100 yards away, the next he had me pinned to the ground. I wasn’t sure what he was at first, but when I saw his incisor lengthen, I suddenly knew what he was. I had read ‘The Vampyre’, ‘Varney the Vampire’,’ Carmilla’ and others growing up, so I could only conclude what he was. And I was suddenly afraid of what was about to happen.

“Fortunately for me, the woman who had stopped me earlier on had been following me. She somehow managed to drive the creature back off of me. I grabbed the revolver and shot at him. One bullet went through his eye, but it didn’t take him down. She had one of her people shoot him and he fell. They quickly surrounded him and lit him on fire. Before I could make a move towards him, she grabbed my arm and held me back.

“He’s too far gone for you to help, Mr. Wayne. He is a creature of the dark, one of the vilest of creatures on this earth.” The creature screamed. Several of her followers jumped back, but kept their weapons at the ready. The screams continued for what felt like hours, before they finally stopped. She pulled me away, and led me back to her campsite. “That creature was once a man who desired power and made a deal with evil to get it. They aren’t to be messed with.”

“They are truly dangerous, and will kill anyone in the blink of an eye. He was one of three different types of vampire. The truly damned, those who sell their souls for power or are cursed after their deaths to become the undead. The half-dead, or ‘puppets’, only able to function if they’re told by the ‘puppeteers’ or ‘controllers’. And those who are cursed while still alive, those who still have their humanity. Of those three, only the last is capable of living like normal humans. The second are the puppets of the first. And all three can be killed by iron, silver, wood and fire.”

“Be careful Mr. Wayne, there are several more of them here. And they’re not the only creatures of the dark that you will encounter if you keep to the ridiculous and stupid quest. Give up now and go back home, or you might not make it out of this alive.” I listened to her explain about the vampires, but once again ignored her words of caution. I asked about what else was out there, but she refused to tell me. I left and continued on my way. I finally found Chill, and confronted him.   
“I remember it was what I had been waiting for, but he seemed to know that I had been following him. He had had enough, and waited until I approached him. He chose to confront me and ask me why I was following him. I pulled my gun and told him.

“You murdered my parents twelve years ago, in Gotham City. But I suppose I look different since I was only 8 that night.” He looked at me, like he was trying to place me. He shook his head, but only shrugged his shoulders. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t remember, after all, you just turned tail and ran away. Like the coward you truly are.”  
“He flinched at the word ‘coward’, but made no move to do anything about it. He just turned around and started to walk away. 

“Where do you think you’re going Chill? I still have my gun.” He stopped and laughed. 

“Unless you got silver bullets in it, I ain’t worried. At least not tonight. See tonight ain’t a good night to try and kill me, boy.” He turned back around, and bent over. I saw him smirk at me, and he said, “Cuz I ain’t a human anymore.” I heard snapping and something pulling. And then I saw the fur growing rapidly all over his body.

“That was my first encounter with a werewolf. I could only watch in horror as he ‘shifted’. He looked me in the eye when he was done and just grinned at me. He turned and darted away, leaving me to stand there in shock. Then it clicked, the bodies I had seen that had been mauled were all on the path that led to him. He had been the one to kill them. I stood no chance without the proper equipment.

“So I bought some silver bullets and continued to track him. Of course, now that he knew I was following him, he didn’t try to hide. There was no point really, seeing as how he knew I had been following him for two years. So he stopped trying to hide his tracks. He led me to village in the small country of Benin. He stopped there for reasons I didn’t know about at the time. I soon found out there was a large group of European explorers there, and among them were a handful of vampires.

“I found this out when one of them attacked me. I remembered the woman telling me there were seemingly three different types of vampires, and these were the second type. Amongst the group was the leader, or ‘controller’, who was using the ‘puppets’ to bring food to it. As the ‘puppet’ attacked me, I was surprised to see Joe Chill pull me away to safety. 

“Dammit, boy, you got a death wish or something? You can’t just go into something like this without a plan.” He alerted the locals to the disturbance and they proceeded to drive to leader away without any loss of life. Unfortunately, the puppets were unable to function without their controller and died. I later learned these puppets, were captured and tortured for a few weeks, which causes insanity. During that time, the master forces them to drink small amounts of their blood in order to survive. In doing so, they become unable to think or do anything without being told by the leader.

“The unaffected members of the group sought shelter for the night. Chill went off to leave, but sought me out first. He led me to a secluded area near the village.

“I bet you wanna know why I pulled you out of the way, huh? Mr. Wayne?” I drew my revolver and aimed it at his heart. My only desire after all of those years, and he was right there in front of me. But, my curiosity prevented me from pulling the trigger. I nodded my head.

“I remember now, after having a chance to think about it. You said Gotham; I only ever killed three people in Gotham. My ‘partner’ Oscar and the couple we had been hired to rob. We had been hired to rob them, not kill. But Oscar got it into his head to hurt ‘em really bad. We were supposed to ambush ‘em when they came out of the theatre, and leave before the police came. Oscar saw an opportunity to make it rich, and got greedy.

“We saw the boy, you, come around the corner ahead of your parents, and it was like a switch turned in him. He said we’d hurt ‘em and leave before they got a good look at us. But the instant I saw the look of recognition in your dad’s eyes, I knew he’d be able to identify us. Oscar started going on about them being abolitionists, which they were, according to the folks who hired us. Either way, I saw Oscar aim at Dr. Wayne, and I tried to stop him. Then I shot him, and I should have dropped the gun but I didn’t.

“I looked up and panicked. I demanded the money and my finger slipped. I swear to god, I never meant to kill anyone. Least of all your folks. Your mama started screaming, and you were looking at me in wide-eyed shock. I saw the pearls and remembered my ma used to want a set like that, so I demanded them to. I heard something in the alley behind me and that damned gun fired again. I saw the look of horror on your face and I ran. The next few years I ran in the hopes no one would find me.

“Then that damned bitch bit me and made me into this. So I just kept running. Now, here I am, looking down the barrel of the gun, just like my first murder. I hope you don’t pull the trigger, Mr. Wayne, but I’ll understand if you do. I have it coming to me, that’s for sure.” He raised his hands and just looked at me. I think he wanted me to let him go, but I didn’t. Something he said clicked in my head.

“You said you were hired, who hired you? Why did they want to rob us? Why?” I desperately wanted answers, so I took advantage of the situation. He got a look of worry on his face.

“I can’t tell you that. I’d rather die at your hands, then theirs. I’m sorry sir.” I considered for a second and started to lower my hand. Then he twitched, probably from his nervousness. All I know is I raised my hand and shot him. The gunshot echoed loudly and the recoil of the gun was stronger then I remembered. The only thing I was able to register, was his shocked expression as he bleed from the bullet in his head.

“He fell to the ground with a soft thump and lay there. I had just killed him. He had confessed and if I had just thought to try and convince him to go back to Gotham City to stand trial. It was never to be, and after all, ‘Hindsight is twenty-twenty.’ I saw his body and began to despair. The very thing I had wanted from the beginning, and now I had nothing left. I stared at the gun and lifted it up to my head. I went to pull the trigger.”)

Bruce stopped his narrative to once more look at his audience. Dick was looking away, not wanting to let Bruce see his reaction. Jarvis sighed softly but didn’t say anything. Barbara was staring at him in shock. Jason had his arms crossed over his chest and was looking at the floor. Stephanie was looking at him in disbelief. He sighed and looked at the fireplace.

“I’m afraid the worst is yet to come. And that’s just my story. If any of you need a few minutes to take a break, I don’t mind.” He looked at them again. They all looked at him and shook their heads. Stephanie snuggled further into the comforter and leaned against Jason’s shoulder. Jason stiffened before relaxing.

“Alright, then I’ll continue.”

(“Fortunately for me, before I could pull the trigger, I heard voices. I lowered the gun and whirled around to see people running towards me. I looked at Chill’s body one more time, and I took off running. I ran for as long as I could, before stopping at the nearest village. It hit me what I had done and I realized I was now a killer. Just like Chill had been. And something inside of me died. I felt that it no longer mattered if I never killed anyone again; I had blood on my hands now. I was no different from any other killer.

“I kept traveling from village to village when I came across bodies that had been drained of their blood. The vampire ‘puppeteer’ was on up ahead of me. So I followed the trail. I’m not sure what compelled me to do so but I did it anyway. Two months to the day that I killed Joe Chill, I confronted the vampire again. I tried to shot him, but he sent his puppets to intercept the shots. I was horrified as these people were innocent. Instead of just shooting at these people, I tried to sneak up on the vampire.

“He just laughed as he caught me and threw me through a wall. I struggled to get back on my feet, since the impact had broken a few bones. He continued to laugh as he walked over to me. He grabbed me around the neck and pulled me up. He began to bite my neck, when the woman came out of nowhere and threw a wooden stake at him. He dropped me and roared at the woman. I looked up to see some sort of flame in her hand. She yelled something in a language I still don’t know and threw the flame.

“The flame struck the vampire and he began to scream. He flailed about and cursed the woman. She and a few of her people rushed over to help me up. I brushed them aside and aimed my gun at the creature. I shot six times before the chamber needed to be reloaded. One of the men tried to pull me away; I shrugged his hand off and reloaded.

“Mr. Wayne, stop this insanity. You can’t win against this creature. You will die if you try.” I sneered at the woman.

“Witch, you’re the one who told me that silver can kill them. I have several silver bullets. He tried to bite me, so I’m going to kill him.” She looked at me with dismay written on her face. “Besides, you and your people haven’t been beaten. What makes you lot so special?” I aimed again and fired.

“We haven’t been beaten yet, Mr. Wayne. That doesn’t mean we won’t remain unbeaten forever. You need to leave now, before there is no turning back.” I ignored her again. “So, it’s no use trying to talk you out of this then, Mr. Wayne? Have you already killed him then, the man who took your parents?” I continued to fire.

“So what if I have, witch? I had the right, and he admitted to the murder. He told me he understood if I killed him. So I did, and now I’ll kill this creature. Then I’ll hunt down anyone who kills other people. For as long as it takes.” She stalked over to me and smacked me as hard as she could. That stopped me for a minute.

“You are a fool Mr. Wayne. You truly believe that you can purge this world of murders, when you yourself have spilt blood. Will you kill yourself when all is said and done? Or will you become like this creature and hunt down others for your own personal joy?” I looked her in the eye and became ashamed of myself.

“It’s because I have spilt blood that I can no longer go back home. I’ve nowhere to go back to. The manor will only remind me of my parents, and seeing the paintings of them, will only show me their disappointment. You tried to warn me, but either way, it’s too late now.” I pushed her aside and shot one more time. The vampire had slammed into a tree in his haste to put out the fire, and now the fire consumed the tree as well.

“She pushed in front of me again and grabbed my face to look at her. She stared into my eyes and I felt as if she was staring into my soul. Something inside me flinched at the thought, but she kept a strong grip on my face. She looked for a few minutes before she stepped back. She started to grin at me then. 

“I believe there’s hope for you yet, Mr. Wayne.” Before I could ask her what she meant, there was a loud snapping of wood. I looked up in time to see her followers move away from the fire. I didn’t realize what was about to happen until it was too late. The only thing I remember was the large piece of wood that came sailing through the air, and impaled me through the left lung. I looked down and saw it sticking out of my chest and then I felt the overwhelming pain. I only vaguely heard the vampire laugh and say something about having gotten his revenge.”)

Bruce heard Stephanie gasp. He turned to look at her.

“You were really impaled, Mr. Wayne? How did you survive…? Wait, I’m sorry, I interrupted you before you got that far in the story.” She had both of her hands up to her mouth. Bruce nodded his head and unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt. There on his chest was an old looking, large, jagged scar. It looked like it was close to his heart as well. Stephanie gasped again and snuggled closer to Jason.

“I assure you Miss. Brown, it hurt like a bitch. Just looking at the stake made me feel sick to my stomach. Anyway, what came next hurt two hundred times more.”

(“I remember, burning pain. It felt as if it was alive. I heard the woman call my name, but I was consumed with pain and couldn’t understand what she was saying. I felt hands press against my chest, which made the pain worse. I was lowered to the ground, and several hands were there to restrain me. I remember there was an unusual smell, I can’t describe what it was, but it almost smelt like magic. I felt this overwhelming sense of dread and anger as well. Then something was placed to my lips.

“My jaw was pried open and something was poured into my mouth. The taste was vile and I cursed. The woman stood before me once again and ordered her people to pick me up. I felt this unbelievable amount of anger towards this woman. She placed a hand on my forehead and spoke a command in a language I didn’t speak. I didn’t understand the words but I passed out. It was a good thing too, as the next thing I knew, the stake was ripped out. Being unconscious made the pain slightly more bearable. 

“Someone slapped some sort of patch over the wound on my chest immediately after. I heard her talk to her people, and I was lifted up and carried away. I don’t know how long the trek was, but the further I was carried, the weaker I became. By the time we stopped, I was barely alive. All I knew was I wanted to kill all of them. It was irrational, but I wanted to spill their blood. They placed me on the ground and the woman placed her hands back on my face and said something else to me. I felt my eyes open of their own accord.

“Mr. Wayne, do you wish to survive? Even if it is a small amount, do you want to live?” I nodded my head, unsure why I had. She peered into my soul again. “I can help you but there will be much pain on your part. You must turn your great strength of will towards your survival. No matter what you go through, you must endure, do you understand Mr. Wayne?” I looked into her eyes and saw the truth there. 

“Yes.” I murmured in answer. I saw a flash of regret flash over her face, but she nodded her head and motioned one of her people over. I felt myself start to drift back into unconsciousness. I felt anger, seemingly claw its way into my soul. Before it could take root, I was lifted into a seated position. A bowl was placed in line of sight, and I saw the woman speak something as she handled the bowl. She slit her palm and I watched in fascination as the blood dripped into the bowl.

“The moment she removed her hand from over the bowl, it started to bubble and hiss. The mixture was placed at my mouth and once again, it was poured down my throat. I choked and sputtered trying to spit it out. The witch turned my head to look at her.

“I will prevent you from becoming a monster like the last, at all costs.” The rest of the mixture was forced down my throat and I began to feel strange. I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was something was moving through my veins and altering things inside my body. My body still felt as though it was on fire, but there was a numbness growing inside as well. Someone began to wrap chains around my body and I began to panic. The woman now had a strip of wood and gently placed it in my mouth.

“I’m sorry Mr. Wayne, I know this will hurt you, but you must endure. Be as angry with me as you want, this will help you survive. It will make you stronger, faster, sturdier. The ritual will cause you immense pain, but it will help you. Be strong Mr. Wayne.” The strip of wood was placed behind my incisors. Then my body became paralyzed. I felt my body be lifted again.

“I felt my body be placed in some sort of box. I looked up to see the woman look down at me with such sadness. The paralysis prevented me from reaching out to her. She looked away and nodded her head. I was beginning to understand what the box was, and seeing the lid only confirmed my suspicions. She looked at me one last time.

“This is only a precaution, Mr. Wayne. The ritual will take some time, and you will need a safe place to ‘turn’ as it were. It is because your beliefs would have you be buried in a coffin that we do this. Others of this tribe didn’t have that luxury. All will be well Mr. Wayne. You’ll see.” And the lid was placed on top of the box. I began to panic but couldn’t move.

“The coffin was picked up and carried a short distance. In the haze of my mind, I realized the wound had stopped bleeding and began to itch, like it had healed on its own. I felt something in my body start to stretch my muscles without me being able to do so. The coffin was lifted again and then lowered a good distance. Then I heard the dirt as it was thrown on the coffin.

“At that moment, my paralysis began to wear off and I felt the skin around my wound knit itself back together. I wasn’t sure how, but I felt it happen. The feeling was strange to say the least. But that was soon overpowered by the bone-deep pain that followed. It started small. A few painful twinges, at first. Then, it felt as though my entire body was on fire. It was all-consuming. I began to feel my blood flow like cement, heavy and sharp.

“It took a few minutes, but I was soon consumed by the feeling. Pain, that was almost mind-numbing, continued to flow throughout my body. It spread from the wound in my chest and slowly spread out to my head, hand and feet. And with every beat of my heart, every pulse of my body, it seemingly amplified. By the time my entire body was wracked with this agony, they had finished burying my coffin. Then they started to chant, some sort of song that I didn’t understand. It only occurred to me later, that I shouldn’t have been able to hear their words. After all, I was buried under six feet of earth.

“I could almost feel the dirt burying me as I thought to try and dig my way out of the coffin. Only, the chains that had been wrapped tightly around me prevented me from doing so. I could hear the chanting inside my head, and although I couldn’t speak the language, I did understand the chanting was to calm me down. I knew there was some aspect of magic at work; I just wasn’t sure how it was working. My anger during the whole thing came back stronger than even by this point, so I mentally began to curse the woman who I felt was to blame for this situation.

“You witch, when I get out of these chains, you’ll be the first one I kill, I swear it.” I mentally screamed at her as I attempted once again to move in the coffin. Another jolt of pain through my body had me pinned against the bottom of the coffin, as I tried not to cry out in pain once again. Once the pain ended, I tried to catch his breath, only to find my breathing had slowed down far more than it should have under the circumstances. I heard the woman’s voice speak directly into my mind then. She had heard my thoughts and was replying back to me the same way. I would learn the reason why later.

“I warned you not to thirst for vengeance and bloodshed in your misguided quest. I warned you that killing the man responsible for the murders of your parents would come at a great price. I warned you weeks ago that your obsession would set you down a path of destruction that would consume you down to your very core. But you didn’t listen, did you Mr. Wayne? And so, I have taken matters into my own hands, if only to help you find some manner of peace. Granted, the peace will only come after you have accepted that you should have tried to at least found someone to spend the rest of your life with.” I realized I had made a grave mistake in ignoring the woman, but I didn’t care.

“Witch, this is all your fault.” I paused as another wave of pain passed through me. This time I could feel the pain linger on my incisors and pulse in time with my ever slowing heartbeat. I felt my incisors slowly lengthen around the small wooden strip that had been placed in my mouth before this ‘ceremony’ had started. “You were the one who said the creatures of the ‘dark’ where no longer human, and shouldn’t be tampered with. So then why did you do this? What reason do you have to justify this?”

“The truth Mr. Wayne is that when I read your future when I first met you, I saw you heading down such a dark path, that you would eventually have become a vampire, who bathed in the blood of your victims. I saw that you would have lost your soul in order to become the creature necessary to gain ‘justice’ against your enemies, and would have been the cause of so many more orphans. And, as I saw this future that might come, I saw that there was still hope for you then. Do you understand now?”

“I froze and stopped trying to free myself when she told me that I would have become the very thing I despised most of all. A murderer, one who would have been the cause of numerous orphaned children. It took me a moment to realize what she had meant about that. I would have hunted down any murderers and killed them on the spot. But in truth, not everyone who had killed someone had done it out of spite or on purpose. I would have been the reason for so many orphans because I would have killed their parents, because they had killed someone else. 

“I had thought that it didn’t matter about me anymore. Since I already had blood on my hands, why try to act like I hadn’t? What was the point, after all? I thought that there was no going back from being a killer myself, after I had killed Joe Chill. I relaxed as I realized, she was right. She had been right all along and had tried to dissuade me from doing what I had done. I truly was a fool for not listening to her.

“Of course I’m right in this matter, Mr. Wayne. I would not inflict this pain, this curse on someone, just to see them suffer. I’m doing this to help you see, that there is more to this than you can truly understand.” I rolled my eyes at the thought.

“You say you don’t want to inflict suffering, but all I’ve been feeling since this started is pain. You say that this is to teach me a lesson. Which lesson is that? ‘If you want vengeance, you’ll be forced to becoming a vampire?’ One of the vilest creatures of the night there is? What are you trying to teach me?” I paused as yet another wave of pain passed through me, this time causing my already injured heart to stutter and constrict painfully. I heard her snort at my disrespectful tone.

“The lesson I’m teaching you is ‘don’t mess with things that aren’t to be messed with.’ In other words Mr. Wayne, you shouldn’t have stuck your nose where it didn’t belong.” She paused in her speech, almost as if she sensed I was reaching the end of my awareness. “It will be over soon Mr. Wayne. I have my reasons for doing this, but the main reason why I’m doing this to you? Because I sensed you still have a good heart deep down under the anger, bitterness and desire for vengeance. 

“I still believe you have a strong sense of justice that if nurtured, can become a force to be reckoned with. Just remember Mr. Wayne, don’t seek someone’s death. Seek only for the truth, with all of your heart. A heart, that even now still causes you pain when you remember that you accidently killed the man that killed your parents. I know you have strong morals and a good heart, but don’t let your anger cloud what must be done. After this night you must, no, you will become a force of good, I know it.” I somehow knew it was a matter of time before I finished the change, so I asked her as quickly as I could before my body completely shut down,

“How can you believe in me after everything I’ve done and said to you and your people? How can you still believe in me when I’ve given up on myself?” I was genuinely confused by her actions. Why would she do such a thing, especially for someone as lost as me? Then I felt one last wave of pain as everything began to fade out as I heard her mental reply.

“Because I know these things. Just as I know that by turning you as we are doing, will prevent you from losing your soul and becoming truly damned. I know the journey will be a long one, but this way you still have a chance at happiness. Now rest and try to get some sleep Mr. Wayne. We have a lot to teach you when you wake up.”

“Then every fiber of my being was consumed in pain. And I lost consciousness. The next thing I was aware of was the sounds of my slow heartbeat and the unexplainable voices I heard speaking directly above me. I remember breathing in and being hit with a hunger the likes of which, I had never had before. My eyes, having somehow become able to see in the pitch black of my coffin, began to see things only as red. I tried again to free myself from the chains, only to burn when my flesh touched the links. I’m certain I cried out at the pain, and I heard her voice again.

“It would appear you’ve finished the change. I was beginning to wonder how long it would take Mr. Wayne.” I heard something like laughter in her voice, but also relief. I was still getting used to the fact that she could just talk to me in such a way, so I accidentally cursed at her.

“Why the hell are you still here?” It took me a few seconds to realize I had thought that. A few seconds later, I heard her get up from where she was seated and start to walk away. “Wait! I didn’t mean that, I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me here.” I started to panic before I heard her sigh. 

“Mr. Wayne, we need to dig you out of your plot. And I can’t do that alone.” She paused as my face flushed with embarrassment. I heard her chuckle. “I’m just going to get the others so that we can unbury you. I promise I would never leave you buried there.” 

“Oh, I see. Well, in that case, thank you. Thank you very much.” The hunger began to get stronger before she and the others came back. She talked to me as they dug me out. When the last of the dirt had been removed, she jumped down next to the coffin. A few of her people were down there as well.

“Mr. Wayne, I’m going to open the lid now. I want you to take a deep breath before I do so, or else you’ll hurt yourself and everyone around us. Do you understand?” I nodded my head and grunted to let her know I had heard her. “Alright, now on the count of three take a deep breathe.” I grunted once more as she gripped the lid. “One, two, three.”

“I took a deep breath before she opened the lid. She pulled back the lid and I saw it was night time. She stood next to the coffin and stared at me before pulling the strip of wood from my mouth. It took a few seconds to realize my mouth had been burning as well. I realized then vampires were weak against wood and as such, had begun to blister my mouth. By removing it, I felt the skin quickly reform. She nodded once and turned to her people. She motioned for something and was handed the bowl from earlier.

“Mr. Wayne, I know you’re hunger is very strong right now. This is only enough to tide you over until you learn to properly drink blood. And before you think about panicking, you won’t hurt anyone innocent. I’ve seen to that while I cast the curse. It will take some time, but as soon as you have learned everything you need to know, you can go back home. Now, I’m going to undue the chains and you are going to drink all of this. Then we’ll get started on your training.” She undid the chains, made of silver, and pressed the bowl to my lips after I sat up. 

“I drank all of it without hesitation. I noticed it did take the edge off of the hunger. She waited until I had drunk all the contents.

“Now Mr. Wayne, jump up out of this hole.” I looked at her in question. She smirked at me. “One of the first things you need to learn is to control your body’s movements. You will be faster, stronger now. You need to be more aware of what can happen if you don’t move carefully. A handshake could turn could lead to bones crushing or something worse. Understand?”

“I was horrified, but what she said made sense. I nodded and stood up. I looked at her and said.

“Would it be alright if everyone looked away, please?” She laughed and nodded her head. She motioned to the others who grinned as well and turned away from me. “Thank you.” I felt foolish but I tried to jump out. The first attempt amounted to nothing and the second had me soar beyond the crowd of people. I’m ashamed to admit my complete lack of grace when I landed. I heard her laugh at me as she made her way out of the hole.

“She held her hand out to help me up and tried not to embarrass me further. I took her hand as she pulled me up and followed her and her people back to the small village they lived in. She stepped towards a large fire in the middle of the village and motioned for me to sit. I glanced around at the other people in the village. They looked at me in fear, so to put them at ease, I sat down. The men, clearly warriors, stood around me with weapons pointed at me. The woman walked around to the other side of the fire.

“You must have questions, Mr. Wayne. What do you want me to tell you before we start your lessons?” She said so calmly. I thought for a few moments. I realized I had very little idea of what I had become, so I asked the first thing I could think to ask.

“You mentioned once that there are three different types of vampire. Could you explain the types and which type I am now, please?” She nodded and motioned for her warriors to step back. She reached into the bag she wore at her side. She pulled out a totem of some kind and handed it to one of her people. It was handed to me and I saw it looked like me, but with blue eyes.

“To begin with, the most common type of vampire is the truly cursed. The damned, who draw evil to themselves either by summoning it or giving into greed. They can lust for power or physical pleasure. The evil spirits or devils even, find them and get them to give into their baser needs. Or they are summoned and consume the souls of those who summon them. Sometimes those they tempt willingly give up their souls and bodies to gain power and torment others. The only way they can be destroyed is through exorcism or by destroying the entire body of the host. We obviously can’t exorcize them, so we try our hardest to destroy the bodies.

“The second type is the most pitiful. They are humans who are tormented by the dark vampires and evil spirits that make up the first type. They are tormented and driven to insanity. Most times they are abducted and held prisoner against their will. While they are held prisoner, they are physically assaulted and force feed small amounts of blood, which heightens their insanity. After that, they become half vampire and are at the full mercy of their ‘puppeteers’ as it were. If their ‘masters’ are killed or there are unable to make it back to their masters, they shrivel up and die within hours. Their bodies are to be burned as well to prevent them from becoming evil spirits as well.

“The last type is the rarest. They are people who have either lead a life of happiness who then lost everything and descended into despair. Or they are people who started good and became twisted and could have gone onto become the first type. And on occasion, they were good people who were almost killed before their time. Either way, they have a curse cast upon them to extend their longevity. In doing so, to protect them from evil spirits, they are cursed to become like their contemporaries. They are cursed while they still have at least part of their humanity. In becoming so, they are the only ones who can endure the sunlight and live as normal humans.

“You Mr. Wayne are the third type. You almost became one of the damned, a scourge upon the earth. However, since you still had some of your humanity, there was hope for you to become a better man like you had started out. This way, you can attempt to atone for your actions. I know you wish you hadn’t killed him. That means there is quite a lot of good left in you, even if you don’t see it.” She smiled at me kindly and nodded to the totem. “That is what I used to cast the curse.”

“I’ve never cursed someone with this curse before. However I’ve seen it numerous times over the span of my long lifetime. My teacher taught me what to do if I ever needed to. Do you want to hear the specifics of your version of the curse?” I looked up at her and nodded my head. My curiosity getting the better of me once again. “You need to drink blood at least every day, no longer then four days between feedings. You are unable to attack the innocent; you will be physically unable to.”

“As for the non-innocent, you will be able to find them and bring them to justice. Your own inner sense for justice is the driving force behind it. You will be unable to drink the blood of the innocent, criminals however are fair game. When you drink from someone, you will be unable to drain someone of all their blood. You’ll be able to stop once it reaches a certain point, so you don’t have to worry about that. You can however drink from innocent people if they willingly let you drink their blood. Again you will be able to stop long before you kill them.” I sighed in relief at the mention of that.

“You must be careful as you can still accidently kill someone by careless force or other means. We will work with you on that. You can also compel someone to obey you. The compulsion can be used to make someone answer your questions or to lessen pain or to forget something traumatizing. You can compel someone to answer you if they are guilty of something. Never the less, the less you use compulsion, the more someone will willingly tell you the truth.”)

Bruce stopped once more to look at Stephanie. She stared at him in confusion for a few seconds, before realization filtered across her face.

“You compelled me to do something? The first night. Of course, now the massive headache makes sense.” She looked at Bruce hesitantly. “What did I tell you?” Bruce raised his eyebrows.

“I’m surprised you aren’t mad at me for what I did. True, I genuinely felt you were a potential danger to the manor. But still, you seem resigned to everything.” Stephanie shrugged and hunched into herself. The comforter seemingly swallowing her.

“I’m honestly worried, not angry. This is your home though, so it makes sense you would want to protect it and everyone in it. So, what did you compel me to tell you?” Bruce sighed.

“When I saw your car, I checked inside it to find out what I could of the owner. I saw your list of places to go to find employment. I touched the list and ‘glimpsed’ the face of Carmine Falcone. So I needed to know if you were a danger. I would like to sincerely apologize for my actions. They were rude and disrespectful. I’m very sorry for what I did.” Stephanie groaned.

“What did I tell you? How much did I embarrass myself?” She said as she covered her face with her hands.

“I asked how you knew of Falcone. You told me about your father. How you ended up with the debt. How you dressed up as Spoiler. And about how you gave your baby up for adoption.” Stephanie cringed. She lowered her hands.

“Wait. If I told you about my baby, why didn’t Jason know?” She looked at the others in the room. They looked at Bruce as well.

“I felt that I had intruded too much already on your private life. So I never mentioned it to anyone else. I felt I owed you more respect than to blab your secrets to the others. I didn’t even tell Jarvis. They found out yesterday when they overheard you tell Jason.” Stephanie glared at the others in the room. John, Dick rather, shrugged his shoulders.

“Truth be told, the two of you did get kind of loud when you were talking. Jarvis almost dropped our plates when you mentioned your baby. When we looked at Bruce, he glared at us and shook his head. So we didn’t ask. We figured if you wanted to tell us, you would.” Stephanie sighed heavily and flopped back against Jason. Jason threw his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her arm gently.

“Alright. I can’t be mad about that. I put my own foot in my mouth. Mr. Wayne, please don’t ever do that again. That’s all I ask.” Bruce nodded his head. “Now, back to the story, please?” Bruce laughed.

“Alright, now where was I? Oh yes.”

(“Then she started to tell me about my new weaknesses. All vampires are weak against silver, wood, iron and fire. Unlike the other types however, religious artifacts have no effect against me unless I’m afraid of them. Having been raised Baptist, I was afraid I would now be burnt to a crisp if I got anywhere near a church. She told me I might be slightly weak against them, but they wouldn’t kill me like they would the others. In other words, if I needed to take shelter in a church, as long as I had an invitation inside and meant no harm to anyone, I could enter. If I could go to church and truly mean to worship and redeem myself, my weakness would gradually leave.

“Invitations into a person’s house are going to be very vital. If you need an invitation inside and don’t get it, you obviously can’t get in at all. This rule becomes lost if the house or residence is missing a wall. The description of a dwelling or house is a floor, four or more walls and a ceiling. A hut or tent that has no floor can be easily accessed if there is no ward against vampires. Wards are mostly annoying and prevent you from entering. They can also be potentially deadly. Magic can’t hurt you so long as you’re a vampire.

“However, with this curse you become human during the day. You lose all of your abilities except your healing saliva. This is when you are at your most vulnerable, as you have all the same weaknesses and a human’s limitation. As a vampire, your senses are enhanced, as well as your durability and stamina. Your reflexes speed and strength will be greater too. You can drink from someone and use your saliva to heal the bite mark. In most ways, you will be superior to humans.

“Here is where I added a few twists. I felt as though you needed to move on with your life and start a family of your own. You told me in response, you felt no woman would want you. You also felt as though you were no good around children. So, I altered the curse to respond to anyone who has been or is in a similar situation as you to add them to your ‘clan’. In other words, the curse will act like a magnet and draw compatible people to you. With you as the source of the curse being the only one who can turn them.” I stared at her gaping.

“Why would you do something like that? Cursing me is one thing, but you’ve essentially condemned who knows how many people to become a vampire as well.” I became angry at her and decided to try my luck at attacking her. Before I could try though, she held up her hand.

“What I did, Mr. Wayne, is provide you the means to start a family of your own. The curse will only bring in a few members, and never more than one at a time. I did place a limit on the clan. No more than ten members. It will only draw in orphans, like you and never take someone in that has a family already. And for each member it draws in, it will draw in a spouse for them. And for yourself as well.

“Once the circumstances are met, the curse will remain until the end of days. Also, it is possible of any member of the clan to biologically reproduce after century of being a vampire. Any child born between said vampire and a human will be a dhamphir, or a half-vampire. They are more dangerous but still have traces of humanity. They need to be changed as well.

“I believe that if you had a family of your own, you would not have ended up in this situation. So, now you will gain a family of your own. And believe me, Mr. Wayne, joining your ‘clan’ or maybe ‘tribe’ will be much better for them in the long run. It will take some time, but you’ll see. You will be happier for it as well.” I sighed in resignation as there wasn’t anything I could do about it anyway. She walked over to me and took the totem back. “Now, let’s begin the training.”

It took a few months to learn all of my new strengths and weaknesses. In that time, the tribespeople began to treat me less like a threat and more like an ally. By the end of my second month in the village, she was confident I was ready to go back home to Gotham City. I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. My decision was made for me one day when a villager came running back from a trip to a neighboring village. He carried a paper and called out to the woman.

“She grabbed the paper and read it. She looked at me and told me what it said.

“This paper comes from someone who last saw you three years ago in Europe. Since you haven’t been seen since, the members of Gotham’s elite have declared you dead. If you don’t return to America with in four months’ time, they will take your home away from you. You might be able to stall for time if you return back to London post haste. You are needed in Gotham City and you will definitely need your home to hide your secret. There is no time to lose.” I looked at her and tried to remain calm.

“I understand your panic, but what am I going to do once I get there? I know I can hide my secret now, and I can make up a story about getting lost in Africa. But I was never a public person. People always saw me as eccentric. How am I ever going to blend back into society and not cause a stir? I never learned how to run a business and I don’t know how to run any machinery. What am I going to do to maintain my family fortune and continue to make money?”

“For a moment she just looked at me. She turned to enter her hut and came back out with a bowl of bones. I cringed when I saw, since I was still getting used to seeing her use ‘magic’. She held the bowl out to me.

“Pick three, Mr. Wayne. I’ll tell you what I see when I throw them into the fire.” I hesitated and looked around. The villagers all watched and encouraged me to pick three. So I did. I cringed again when I saw the bones in the pile. She took the bones I picked and threw them into the fire. She didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and then she spoke with a genuine smile on her face.

“All will be well, Mr. Wayne. It will take some time to get things straightened out. You will make mistakes, but they will help you to learn. And you will create a greater legacy then your parents.” I gasped in shock at her statement. “But if you don’t leave tonight, you will lose everything you left behind. Including your manservant.”

“You mean Edmund? Is he alright? He’s always been a good friend to me.” She looked at me.

“I see his death if you are not there to stop it. That is why you must go. And it must be tonight.” I nodded my head in agreement.

“It’ll take a long time just to get back to London, you know?” She smirked at me.

“Oh, I think my magic can help with that. All we need to do is gather your coffin and we’ll be ready to go.” I felt myself flinch at the word coffin. She looked at me in sympathy. “You need to take your coffin with you. Once you have arrived safely at home, you need to dig a fresh grave and put the coffin in it. That way if something should happen to you and you come close to death again, you can lie in it and heal faster. The magic used to change you never leaves the coffin.”

“Really? Is that how the stories of vampires returning to their graves was started? I never could understand that part.” She nodded her head and called out to her people. I had lived amongst her people for two months and I still didn’t speak the first word of their native language. It occurred to me that she had never told me her name either. I waited until after she gave her orders to ask her. “It’s occurred to me that I don’t know your name.”

“My birth name was lost centuries ago. I’ve since then been called many things. You can call me whatever you want to.” She walked away from me. Her people dug my coffin up and brought it to lie next to the hole it had been removed from. Then they began shoveling dirt out of the hole into the coffin. When it was half full, the replaced the lid. Then she, a few of her people and me started our journey.

“It took a few weeks to travel to the nearest port to sail to London. Along the way, I tried my hardest to think of an appropriate name. I finally settled on one before realizing it meant something different in several different languages. I tried to think of another name, but it kept rolling around in my head. Finally I told her what I had come up with.

“I think the name ‘Tabitha’ seems appropriate for you. What do you think?” She laughed at me.

“’Tabitha’ is biblical, is it not? I mean no disrespect to Christian or Jewish people, so perhaps a different name, Mr. Wayne?” I felt my face get red from embarrassment.

“It’s also Aramaic for ‘Gazelle’ or “graceful’. Which reminds me of all the times we met when I was traveling.” Her gaze softened. She smiled and nodded her head. “Gazelle’s are swift creatures and you were always there quickly when I need your help. Besides, Tabitha was Edmund’s mother name. She was like a second mother to me.”

“You’re right. It does mean ‘Gazelle’. And since I am like another mother figure to you, it seems fitting to borrow the name of a good woman for my own. Gazelle’s are striking. All right, Mr. Wayne, from this day forth, you may call me Tabitha.”

“Tabitha made sure I got to port and secured passage for myself. As we parted she slipped me a note. I waited until I was down below deck to read it.

“’I’m sorry to have deceived you Mr. Wayne. This ship is bound for America. You didn’t have the time to spare going to London first. The ship is stocked for the trip and you’ll be quiet safe onboard. When you reach home, write ‘I’ve returned’ on this slip of paper. I will know immediately. I’ve already sent word to your manservant Edmund that you are on your way back. Best wishes.”

“It took just under four months to arrive back in Gotham City. Once the ship made port and the passengers disembarked, I started to head to the nearest hansom. A two-wheeled carriage drawn by one horse, it was my good fortune that said hansom was drawn by none other than Edmund. I called out to him in surprise, glad to see a familiar face after so long. We exchanged quick greetings, and I told him I would tell him everything that had happened to me. I told him part of it would sound outrageously insane. He told me that I could regale him once we were back at the manor.

“Once we arrived here, I felt a great sense of relief. I was honestly surprised since I felt that I didn’t belong here anymore. Never the less, I settled back in. I quickly wrote ‘I’ve returned’ on my note and watched it catch fire and burn to ashes. The ashes seemed to float up from the desk I had written at and just as quickly, vanished in a puff of smoke. Edmund watched me closely and reminded me of my promise. By the end of my narrative, he was shocked but believed me none the less. Then he brought up the matter of my return and how I was going to keep the manor.

“It took the rest of the night; however we were able to concoct a mostly true story about my return. We announced it to the papers shortly before morning and we spent the next few days meeting with the lawyers and the senior members of my family’s company. It took another few weeks but we were eventually able to get things worked out about my being able to stay in the manor. One of the senior members suggested, rather rudely at that, that I should take up learning the workings of the entirety of the company. I took him up on the offer and realized that I had a knack for working with machinery. The man, Matthew Carlson, quickly came to regret his suggestion.

“But it wasn’t all business. Once I returned to Gotham City, I came to the realization that numerous gangs had sprung up while I had been away. Most of the gangs where comprised of hard-hitting bruisers and thugs. They were ruthless and aggressive. I wanted to stop them, but couldn’t find a way to do so without drawing attention to myself. During the day, I am powerless. It’s only from sunset to sun rise that I have my abilities. So I needed a way to attack them at night.

“I had to learn more about them first, which was slow in coming as it became obvious people were scared of them. I tried numerous times to get the jump on them but to no avail. Obviously I couldn’t show my face, so I needed a disguise to hide my identity. A disguise to put fear into the gangs. That disguise was the precursor to my Batman suit. After a few months of unsuccessful confrontations, I was mulling over the problem here in the study. It was then I saw a flying creature speeding towards the window.

“I panicked and backed away in time to narrowly avoid the creature slam through the window and land on a bust of my father’s head. The creature was somehow unharmed. It looked at me from its perch and squeaked at me. In my youth, I was terrified of bats and the fear still lingered then. That’s when I realized I had my solution. I felt as though it was my father himself who had sent the answer.

“Yes father, I shall become a bat.” I said out loud at the creature. I would dress as a bat creature and descend upon the criminals and bring them to justice. That’s how it all started really. After that, I redesigned my outfit and took to using my supernatural abilities to take the gang members down. It worked, and I continued to track the gangs down to bring them to justice. After a while, the gangs began to merge into larger gangs and newer more dangerous members began to emerge. I was only one person and vampire or not, I couldn’t take them all down by myself.

“It would be a few decades before Barbara’s father, James Gordon, became commissioner. So I was without help from the police. Unfortunately, they were more inclined to shoot at me then the criminals. Either way, I kept at it and almost completely cleaned up Gotham. The turn of the century however brought new players in. The gangs that remained were quickly assimilated into the gang which would become the mob families of Falcone and Maroni. Any others were killed off or arrested. At least by the non-corrupt police officers.

“In the meantime, I had taken great pains to turn my family’s business into something better. Something almost everyone, myself included, was shocked about. I kept a close eye on every aspect of the company. Over the years though, I feared people would notice that I wasn’t aging. And that I remained single. So Tabitha gave me the solution. Magic.

“When I asked her what to do, she simply replied that I needed to compel them to make them believe ‘Bruce Wayne’ had had an affair of some sort in Europe, which had resulted in his illegitimate son ‘Patrick Wayne’ being born. She helped me forge false documents to ‘prove’ Patrick existed, then when ‘Bruce’ hosted a giant ball, she helped me cast such a large compulsion to make everyone I interacted with believed me. It worked, and after using make-up and wigs to disguise my un-aged appearance, ‘Bruce’ died. Shortly thereafter, ‘Patrick’ appeared and took over with minimal problems. I’ve used that ability twice since then, both times to great effect. That’s when things took a turn for the strange. The mob families brought with them some supernatural creatures and people that have since added a great deal of danger to Gotham. The most dangerous of them all, a creature who called himself ‘Joker’. 

“His name sounded tame enough, but he is anything but. He looks like a deranged clown, with no desire to bring anyone any happiness. To this day, I still don’t know where he originally came from, but he has been a thorn in my side since the 1890’s. He’s a ‘spiritwalker’, or rather a demented, almost demonic, spirit that uses magic to anchor itself to people. When one body dies, it looks for another body to latch onto. His spirit is bound to a spell book of the darkest kinds of magic. The problem lies with the witch who summons him in the first place.

“He’s dependent on a witch, or someone who can cast magic to summon him in the first place. He’s gone through five since I first encountered him. Always young women, blonde, lack of empathy. He calls all of them ‘Harley Quinn’. They summon him and his spirit possesses a body, warping their physical appearance to look like him. Then he goes on a rampage to cause as much chaos as he can. After he’s gone through a few bodies, he starts to attack the current ‘Harley’. If he kills one, he has to wait to find a new one to start the cycle all over again.

“In the meantime, I can never get my hands on the damned spell book. Before I can get close enough to it, it vanishes, looking for a new summoner. And their all hopelessly devoted to the ‘Joker’, so they won’t let me get close to them to capture them. Aside from ‘Joker’, there are other supernatural creatures like werewolves, witches, other vampires, human psychics and the like. The mob families are known to employ a few to intimidate the others. There’s even a witch who tried to summon the spirit of the earth to wreak havoc on the masses for destroying the planet. The resulting explosion caused the witch to become a plant manipulating creature who calls herself ‘Poison Ivy’. A human psychic I once knew who was heavily disfigured in an accident which caused him to gain a split-personality. 

"He lost his psychic ability, but gained a murderous persona called ‘Two-Face’. That’s in addition to the usual criminals that call Gotham home. So I’ve had a lot on my plate since I returned home. Over the years though, I’ve gotten the upper hand due to the inventions of the radio, the automobile and the airplane. I had to be careful about being seen in the first automobile I owned. Since people might be able to recognize it belonged to ‘Patrick Wayne’. When she came to check on me, Tabitha got the biggest kick out of seeing me drive it. She asked me for a ride since she hadn’t ridden in one before.

“So what do you call this then, Mr. ‘Batman’? The ‘Bauto-Mobile’? Or the ‘Batman-Mobile’?” She tried to hide her humor behind her hands. She failed spectacularly. 

“Don’t you start with me.” I told her as we puttered down the road. She just laughed harder.

“I can run faster than this thing.” She crossed her arms as she smirked at me. I glared at her to let her know I didn’t want to hear it. “Well, my name does mean, Gazelle. They do run fast.”

“If you don’t like it, you can get out and go to the manor on your own.” She laughed again and shook her head.

“Oh no, I’m going to enjoy this ride. For however long it takes you. It’s starting to grow on me.” I sighed as I realized she was enjoying this far too much. We made it back to the manor and I introduced her to Edmund. The two of them became best friends almost immediately. I was showing her around the manor, when she found a hole in the wall behind the grandfather clock. We discovered it was a small crawlspace that lead to a set of stairs.

“The stairs, it turned out, had been put there by my grandparents to aid runaway slaves. I knew my parents had been abolitionists, but I hadn’t known my grandparents had been too. The stairs lead to the cave you saw earlier. The three of us made our way down and discovered it. We were in awe of its size and that’s when it struck me. It would be the perfect place to hide my secret identity. The tunnels and cave that had been used to help slaves escape further north, would now be where I could work from as Batman.

“Tabitha agreed to help me and Edmund build the area into a suitable working space. We spent the next few months converting it into something of an inhabitable place to stay if need be. Over the years, we’ve since added electricity, water turbines to convert the waterfalls into a separate, working source of power. We’ve added radios, the latest in computers and televisions to watch the cameras we’ve installed throughout the city. We also added several smaller areas that serve as a fully functional laboratory, a practice area for training, the medical bay you’ve already seen, a trophy area for anything I collected from various villains and so on. It’s definitely grown since we started working on it all those years ago. We also added a few other ways to get down to it. There are four ways from the manor alone.

“Tabitha visits every so often, to check in and see what new things have been added. On one of her visits, shortly after New Year’s Eve, 1911, she told me to be on the lookout for someone. She never told me who to lookout for, just that I would know when I laid eyes on them. The following March, we had a severe rainstorm that had done some damage to the third floor. I wanted to take care of it, but Edmund told me he would take care of it himself. He then told me about a traveling circus that was coming through Gotham a few days later. I wasn’t certain I should go, as most of Gotham knew ‘Allan Wayne’ was rather shy when compared to his father and grandfather.

“Never the less, I followed Edmund’s suggestion and on April 1st, 1911, I went to the circus. The world famous ‘Haly’s Circus’, whose main attraction was a family of acrobats, ‘The Flying Grayson’s’. They were known for their daring performances, and they were the only group to perform their finale without a net. A family of six, who were capable of doing four complete summersaults in the air as they flew from one bar to another. The very idea caught my interest, but it was the youngest of the group, nine year old Richard John ‘Dick’ Grayson, who held my full attention.

“I watched the whole performance, wondering why this young boy was so interesting. I found out during the finale. He was the only one who didn’t perform and thus was the sole survivor of his family.”)

Bruce ended his story and looked at his crowd. Everyone had stopped watching him and were looking at Dick. Stephanie had her hands covering her mouth to keep from gasping aloud. Dick was looking at the door, away from everyone else. He sighed heavily and turned to look at Bruce. Barbara squeezed his hand in assurance and kissed him on the cheek. He grinned at her, before looking at the others.

“Well, I guess that means, it’s time for me to tell my part of the story.” He grinned again. “Bruce always ends the story right there. But to be fair, the rest is more about us then just him.” Before he could continue, the clock at the far end of the room chimed 10:00. Jarvis looked at it and stood up.

“I’ve heard this part of the story more than once, so I must attend to my daily chores now. Is there anything anyone would like to eat? I know Miss. Stephanie needs more fluids to replace what she lost. And it goes without saying that food is also necessary.” He looked around the room. Stephanie’s cheeks turned pink, but didn’t argue with him. Bruce looked at him.

“Perhaps some of your special soup? I know I always enjoy eating that.” Dick turned his head to look at Jarvis as well.

“Yes Jarvis, could you make some? I love your soup, and your fancy breadsticks as well. I always eat when you fix that.” Barbara and Jason enthusiastically nodded in agreement. Stephanie, who had never tried his special soup, just nodded as well. Jarvis nodded his head.

“Very well, I shall make my special soup for everyone. Is there anything else?” Five heads shook, almost in unison. “I shall bring up an early lunch. If you will excuse me then.” He turned and exited the room. Dick turned to Stephanie and grinned.

“Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve had Jarvis’s soup. It’s mostly vegetable soup, with diced chicken and beef. It’s almost a stew really, but it’s absolutely delicious.” Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

“Stop making me hungry, Dick. Just get on with your story.” Jason teased as Stephanie snuggled in closer to him. Dick laughed.

“Alright, so my story begins a few years before I met Bruce. I was born December 1st, 1902. My parents were John and Mary Grayson. My uncle was Richard and Aunt Karla, and there son, my older cousin John. I was born into a pretty big circus family, if you include the several, ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ I had of the other members of the circus. Haly’s was mostly an American based circus, but we did once or twice travel to Europe to perform. The first nine years of my life were spent training and living a mostly carefree life. That is until the night of April 1st, 1911, the night I lost everyone I cared about.”


	9. Chapter 8: The Past Revealed (Dick's Part)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright before I begin, I would like to give a big thank you to powergirl1 (from ff.net) for suggesting Dick’s ability to be communicating with animals. She was kind enough to give me permission to use the suggestion in this story. So she is the one who gets full credit for the idea. Thank you so very much, I hope I don’t disappoint. She also suggested Jason’s ability be tracking, which I instead mentioned was more like Tim’s ability. Tim will not be a main character in this story, but will be in a sequel. So please bear with me, Tim fans. Thank you once again powergirl1, you’re awesome.
> 
> For anyone who might be curious about Dick’s family being six members instead of three, that’s how it was written in the comics that went with the Young Justice cartoon. That’s the storyline I’m sticking with for now, it might change later on. Especially if I introduce Damian in a future sequel, I’m not sure yet. 
> 
> On a side note, Strigoi is a Romanian type of vampire, but little Dick gets confused about the details surrounding them. Wikipedia helps a lot went it comes to looking up info on different types of vampires. I borrowed a few parts from the graphic novel ‘Batman: The Black Mirror’, such as the map and pins and the part where Dick mentions the rules for the trapeze. I also borrowed a few parts from the ‘Young Justice’ cartoon comics and from one of the comics where Dick meets someone from his past. The man comments about people not liking circus folks in ‘Batman’ issue 709. Please give all of them a read, they are really good.
> 
> I’m glad people didn’t dislike the last chapter, I tried to type what I saw in my head, but some parts were stubborn to write. Thank you all for continuing to read this, and sticking with me. I’m trying my hardest with this story, I know it takes a lot of patience. Dick, why were you so hard to write? You silly little chatterbox. Oh, I mention church once and very briefly, just to give a heads up. I swear I'm not racist or prejudiced when I mention gypsies, it's just what the jerks in this chapter call Dick. Trust me, I don't share the viewpoints of any of those characters, I wanted to show how bad the viewpoints were back in the early 1900's. 
> 
> I would like to give a big, warm thank you to Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 12 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx & SamTheKingOfHell to for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. Seriously, you all have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you all so much, I sincerely hope I don’t disappoint any of you. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 8: The Past Revealed (Dick’s Part)

(“Alright, so my story begins a few years before I met Bruce. I was born December 1st, 1902. My parents were John and Mary Grayson. My uncle was Richard and Aunt Karla, and there son, my older cousin John. I was born into a pretty big circus family, if you include the several, ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ I had of the other members of the circus. Haly’s was mostly an American based circus, but we did once or twice travel to Europe to perform. The first nine years of my life were spent training and living a mostly carefree life. That is until the night of April 1st, 1911, the night I lost everyone I cared about.”)

Dick paused for long enough to swallow the lump that appeared as he spoke. He looked at the others in the room, and continued.

(“Well, let me back up a day. The truth is, on March 31st C.C. ‘Pop’ Haly was overseeing the construction of the tents and all of the assorted equipment. He was walking through the circus grounds as everyone was hard at work setting up everything we needed to perform. My cousin John and I were helping our family with our things, when I ‘heard’ one of the horses in the enclosure whinny in fear. It’s a little known fact that I can speak to animals; not just talk to them, but actually understand everything they say. Just like I can talk to people. So hearing the horse sound so afraid, I stepped away to see what was going on. The horse enclosure was close to ‘Pop’s’ tent, so I snuck around to see what was going on.

“I saw three men I’d never seen before talking to Pop, and Pop angrily shouting that he wouldn’t do it. It was rare to see Pop so shook up, let alone yelling. So I crept as close as I could to listen in. I didn’t understand what they were talking about then, but the tallest of the three kept on asking for ‘money, just a little protection money’. Pop yelled that he would do no such thing and angrily asked the three to leave. The tallest just smirked at him and remarked, ‘maybe you just need some time to think it over’. They turned and left, but not before the biggest called the tall one ‘Boss Zucco’.

“I waited until they were gone to come out of hiding. When I asked Pop what the creepy men wanted, he told me to not worry about it. They had just been trying to do something bad. I tried to ask what, but he told me I was too young to understand. He told me to put it from my mind and to go back to my family. I walked past the horses to make sure they were alright and only left when they told me they were okay. My mom saw me walking back and immediately asked where I had wandered off to. I decided to listen to Pop and not tell anyone about what had happened.

“Mom shook her head when I told her the horses were acting up. Uncle Rick, short for Richard, just laughed when I told the others I went to calm them down. He said I was a chip off the old block. We went back to work and I forgot about the incident. The next day, I went with mom and Aunt Karla to help with the costumes we would be wearing, while dad and the others finished setting up the trapeze rigs. We were walking back to our tent when we saw the three men from the previous day come strolling in like they owned the place. Pop saw them and charged at them yelling for them to go away. They just smirked and walked towards Pops tent like they had the day before.

“I felt someone gently pull me back away from the ruckus and wrap their arms around me. I looked up to see mom hugging me with a terrified expression on her face. Aunt Karla guided the two of us back to our tent, even though I could hear the horses and the elephants all crying out in fear. They say animals are good judges of character and I found that out when they started acting scared of those guys. Mom was scared and wouldn’t tell me why, so Aunt Karla told me to hug mom back to calm her down. I did and she seemed to relax enough to tell me she felt terrified of those men. I almost told them about what the men had said the day before, but dad came in and distracted me. He told us the rigging was secure and ready for the big performance that night.

“I thought that mom would tell dad if she thought something was wrong, so I didn’t worry about it. I just went with my cousin to get ready. I spent a little bit with the animals to make sure they were alright, then dad called me back. As we passed Pop’s tent, I saw a map of the route we were using to travel the states. All the areas we were traveling had either red pins or blue. Dad had told me before that the blue pins were to mark small towns, which meant smaller shows, nothing too fancy. Red pins were for big cities, bigger shows and more dangerous acts. Only this time there was a black pin as well.

“Dad, why is there a black pin? I’ve never seen that before.” Dad looked at me and smiled.

“Well Dick, that means that we pull out all the stops. Bring down the house with all the biggest, most dangerous stunts we can. No safety nets or catch wires, just everyone pushing themselves to the limits.” I looked at dad confused, because we’d never done anything like that before that I could recall. He obviously had, so I asked him.

“Why just Gotham City though? What makes it so special?” He ruffled my hair and laughed.

“Some places just have this, hunger to them. And you either feed it what it wants, or you stay far, far away.” I felt a chill go down my spine at his words. At the time it was a chill of excitement, but it was more than likely a premonition. Either way I was excited and headed back to join the others as we waited for the show to start. We spent the next few hours practicing and waiting for time to start the show. When it was time to get ready, dad went to check the lines one last time. They rest of us got changed.

“As the audience started to come in I heard one of the performers, a ‘supposed’ fortune teller from Italy, call out ‘Strega’ at someone in the audience. I only spoke a few words of Italian, even though I was raised around at least seven different languages in the circus. The fortune teller, I believe her name was Luca Vincenzo, was terrified as she stared at the audience. She had been with the troupe for a few decades and was well trusted. So when she cried out ‘Strega’, a lot of the older members started to get a little worried. I asked my mother what she meant, but she didn’t speak Italian. My cousin John however scoffed at her and shook his head.

“She’s starting to lose her mind with all the tea leaves she reads is all.” I looked at him.

“Why? Do you know what she said?” He looked at me and ruffled my hair.

“Yeah, I do know what she said. Strega, which you should recognize as sounding similar to a certain Romanian folktale, is Italian for ‘Witch’. She’s been wound up since before we came to Gotham. Said disaster would befall us if we performed here. She called someone in the audience a witch, and more than likely, is going to blame that person for any mishaps in the show.” I turned to Luca and looked in the direction of the so called witch. I didn’t see anyone who ‘seemed’ like a witch but before I could turn away, I saw a tall man look in our direction and his eyes turned from brown to blue and back again.

“My mom called me to come over to her, and when I looked back to find the man again, he had disappeared into the crowd. I was nervous, but I had to ignore everything and get ready to perform. Our act was the finale and so we had to wait for a while, so I kept looking for the man but never could find him. Dad patted me on the shoulder and grinned. I grinned back and decided to ignore everything that had happened prior. Then came the moment I had been waiting for.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I now announce to you the one and only: Flying Grayson’s.” The spotlights shined on us and I felt all nervousness melt away. First to go were dad and Uncle Rick. Oh, you should have seen them as they went, it was amazing. They made it safely to the opposite side and were waiting on the rest of us. Mom and Aunt Karla went next. Beside me, I heard John chuckle.

“Ready, Shortie?” I looked at him and grinned as widely as I could. “Me first, then you last. Make it look good now.” He teased as he grabbed the bar. Then he was off as well. I took a deep breath and heard Pop speak up again.

“And now, performing his American debut on the trapeze, the youngest member of the family. Dick Grayson.” That was my cue and I took off. Our family had a trick that everyone in the family could perform, the quadruple somersault. It’s unique to our family alone. And that night was the first night I had performed it in front of an American audience. Haly’s was an international circus, so I had done the move numerous times before. Every time I did it though, felt like the first time.

“The audience went wild after I made it to the opposite side. They applauded and cheered and you could just feel the excitement. I performed a few other stunts with my family, before I had to sit down. I wasn’t allowed to do the finale stunt with the others, because I was too young. The final stunt involved performing without a safety net. Every time they got ready, I’d ask dad,

“Can I do it with you tonight?” And every time, dad would just smile and say ‘no’. It made me feel a little left out, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. As the workers removed the net, I heard on of the elephants, a female Indian elephant named Zitka make a commotion outside. Her handlers were able to calm her down, so I decided to check on her after the show. John, the second youngest, came over to me and ruffled my hair.

“Don’t worry squirt, you’ll get your chance sooner than you think.” He always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. Then it was time for the finale. I had the best seat in the house, so to speak. I watched as everyone started the finale. When Aunt Karla, the last one to take to the air reached the middle, there was a feeling of all the air being sucked out of the tent. Then there was complete silence. The rigging broke and they all fell to the ground.

“Then there was a scream, from the audience, or from me, I’m still not sure to this day. I can’t remember hearing anything for about an hour after that, I just remember climbing down the ladder to the ground and someone holding me back from the, the bodies. Things were a blur at that point, all I really recall was trying to get to my family. The next thing I remember was being led away and running to the elephant enclosure. I always found the elephants to be a calming presence. I climbed in with them and ran to Zitka. She was still upset about something, but she could tell I needed her. She wrapped her trunk around me and held me as I cried.

“She told me she had seen someone different around the ropes earlier. She said she had seen them come out of the tent just before the finale. I cried harder as I realized someone had murdered my family. She told me she was sorry she hadn’t been able to help. The other elephants gathered around us and tried to console me as well. The next thing I remember was one of the handlers coaxing me away from the elephants. The police had arrived and wanted to talk to me. Next to the handlers was the man I had seen earlier.

“I was nervous of the ‘strega’ man, even though he hadn’t done anything to me. He squatted down to be at my level and smiled sadly at me. He introduced himself as ‘Allan Wayne’ and told me he was very sorry that I had lost my parents. For some reason I wasn’t aware of, I felt as if there was a connection between the two of us. I felt as if he truly was sympathetic towards me. Either way, the next person I saw was a tall man with glasses and a moustache named Captain James Gordon. He apologized to me about making me relive what I had just seen, but he needed to ask me a few questions.

“I answered his questions to the best of my abilities. Before he left, he introduced me to a sour faced man named Gerald Markham. Mr. Markham was from CPS and was there to take me to a temporary boy’s home. I was horrified to hear that he was going to take me away, but Captain Gordon said it was only temporary. Until they could find any relatives to take me in. I told them the only relatives I had were the other members of the circus. I had no one else to take me in. Mr. Markham sneered at me and told me to come along anyway.

“I heard a growl coming from Mr. Wayne and I saw his eyes turn red. I got scared and grabbed for Mr. Markham’s hand. Mr. Markham didn’t notice Mr. Wayne’s eyes change color so he just yanked at my hand and half-dragged me to a waiting carriage. When I looked at Mr. Wayne once more, I saw his eyes had turned back to blue, the same eye color his eyes had been when he introduced himself. He looked sadly at me and offered a small wave. I turned from his gaze, more afraid of him then I had been before. I was beginning to see why Luca had called him a witch, how else could he change the color of his eyes?

“The trip was made in silence, and I wasn’t entirely sure Mr. Markham liked me. Either way, when we stopped, he told me to get out in front of a large stone building. He held the door open long enough for me to climb out and grabbed my arm. He marched me inside and straight to the desk that sat in front of the lobby. A large grandfatherly man sat behind the desk and nodded to us in greeting.

“Is Mr. Simmons here? I need to drop off a new boy.” Mr. Markham asked in a rather serious tone. The Guard nodded and pointed down the hall. Mr. Markham led me to the office at the end of the hallway. Mr. Markham stopped in front of the door and knelt in front of me. He had a somewhat sympathetic look on his face as he spoke to me.

“Now look here kid. I know you’ve just had a terrible night, I’m sorry it had to happen. Never the less, you’re going to be here for a while, so do your best to stay out of trouble. Keep your head down, don’t argue with anyone, do what you’re told and above all else, don’t mention you’re from the circus. Mr. Simmons runs things around here, he’ll be the one to tell the other adults here, but don’t tell any of the other boys, understand? Mr. Simmons will be told your folks are from the circus, he doesn’t like circus folks, but he’ll do his best to help. The other adults won’t, so the less anyone knows, the less trouble you’ll get into.”

“I didn’t understand at the time, but I know now why he told me not to mention the circus. He stood up and knocked on the door. We were told to come in and quickly told Mr. Alvin Simmons why I was there. Sure enough, when he heard I was from the circus, his kind face shifted to disgust.

“So, you’re a little gypsy boy, huh?” I wasn’t sure why he sounded so disappointed. Still, he took the two of us to a small room with two empty beds. He pointed to the room. “Pick a bed. There’s a set of clothes that should fit. Change and go to bed. I’ll get you in the morning for breakfast.”

“He stared at me as I walked in. He handed me his flashlight and shut the door behind me. 

“And don’t waste my battery.” He said as he and Mr. Markham walked back to his office. I turned the beam onto the beds and grabbed a set of clothes. I quickly changed my clothes and lay down, too tired to ignore his words. I cut off his flashlight and held it close. The next morning, I was awakened by someone shaking me. I woke up to see three older, taller boys standing over me. I tried to say good morning to them, but they cut me off.

“So you’re the new kid. What’re you in for, huh?” I looked at them confused. The leader of the group smirked at me. “What did you do, kid? Steal, beat-up someone, or what?” I still didn’t understand what they meant.

“I didn’t do anything. My parents died last night and Mr. Markham brought me here.” They laughed at me like they didn’t believe me. “It’s true. Mr. Markham said I had to stay here at the boy’s home for a while.” They laughed harder, before the leader spoke again.

“This ain’t no boy’s home. They lied to you. This is juvenile center. It’s where all the little delinquents are sent.” I didn’t believe him at first. The way he acted, oozed lies. He wasn’t wrong though. He tried to take the flashlight from me, but Mr. Simmons picked that moment to come in the room.

“Oh good, you’re already awake. Boys, take Mr. Grayson to the mess hall.” He took the flashlight from me and sent the four of us out. The boys, Bobby, Elijah & Davis, lead me to the mess hall. They asked me where I was from, and I forgot Mr. Markham’s warning not to mention the circus. Their attitudes towards me took a 180 after that. Before, they had been somewhat civil, but after I mentioned where I was from, they became down right cruel. A few of the adults even over looked the violence.

“They got a few other boys to join in on the ‘fun’ as they called it. Everything from punching and hitting me to stealing my food and lying to the adults, saying they were just playing. I learned in less than a day, normal folks didn’t like circus folks, or ‘gypsies’, as we were called. Circus folks aren’t popular with the local people in small towns; it gets worse when in larger towns and cities. Everyone loves to watch the shows, but outside of the big top, they don’t have much time for us, especially if they think we’ve over-stepped our boundaries or took what wasn’t ours. The adults didn’t try to hide the fact they didn’t like me, so they over-looked the treatment. All because other ‘gypsies’ had taken advantage of people, and that meant all circus people should be punished. I spent almost four months in there, before things got better.

“Just before the fourth month of my ‘incarceration’ I was told I had a visitor. I was completely confused as to who it was or why they wanted to see me. In that amount of time, my self-confidence and sense of worth was practically nonexistent. I was shown to the director’s office and saw the person who wanted to see me. It took a minute to recognize him, but when I did, I started to panic. I thought the other boys words of, ‘You’ll get what’s coming to you’ were finally coming true. 

“Grayson, this is Mr. Wayne. He said he’s met you before and wanted to see how you were doing.” Mr. Simmons said as ‘Mr. Wayne’ turned around. When he turned his expression changed from happiness to horror. I know I started shaking when I looked him in the eyes, so I quickly averted my eyes. I heard someone clear their throat, but I still refused to look up.

“Mr. Simmons, if it’s not much trouble, I’d like to talk to Dick in private if you please? He probably doesn’t remember me, and if he does its likely marred by bad memories.” Mr. Wayne spoke. I was mentally hoping he wouldn’t leave. I saw him fidget before he responded.

“Mr. Wayne, begging your pardon, but are you sure you just want to talk to the boy? You seemed awfully interested in him, and it seems rather odd. If you’re thinking of something inappropriate, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Back then I was absolutely relieved to hear that, now I know exactly what he meant and can’t help but to laugh.”)

Dick tried not to laugh out loud. Stephanie stared at him for a minute before a look of understanding lit her face.

“Wait, did he mean ‘inappropriate’ as in, sexually?” She looked at Bruce, who was shaking his head in exasperation. “He thought you were, eww. Well, I can kind of see where he was coming from. But, really?” Bruce looked her in the eyes.

“Well, ‘Allan’ was a quiet, almost reclusive person. As such, he showed almost no interest in women. So the fact he, or rather I, was so interested in Dick, it must have sent the wrong image. True, when I first saw Dick I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. But not in a sexual way, no. Tabitha came to visit after Dick’s parents died. After I explained what happened, she told me it was because the curse recognized him as a future member of my ‘clan’. She said if I took him in as a ward, the pull towards him would disappear.

“She said it would instead become a familial connection. And would stay that way until I converted him. The same way it would with anyone else who would become a family member. That was why I wanted to see Dick, if he was doing alright, I could fight against the pull. If not, I’d just do what I could to gain guardianship of him. And the reason I was horrified when I saw Dick, is because I saw how thin he had become. From that moment on, I was determined to become his guardian.”

“But, since Bruce wasn’t a father, there were quite a few mishaps over the years. For myself and Jason as well as Bruce. But, that came later.” Stephanie squirmed. “Are you alright, Steph?” Stephanie bit her lip.

“I’m not trying to be rude, I’m listening I swear. It’s just,” she trailed off for a minute. She blushed. “Ever since Jason brought me in here, all of you have been refilling my glass with water. So, if you all would please excuse me? I’ll be right back.” She hurriedly pushed back the comforter and darted out of the room. Jason watched her leave and mindlessly played with the edge of the comforter.

“If it weren’t for the fact she needed to replace the fluids she lost when she let me drink her blood, I’d apologize to her. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable.” He looked down at the comforter and a small smile appeared on his face. “I’m only slightly surprised you hung on to this Bruce. I thought you would have thrown it away or something.” Bruce smiled at Jason.

“I wouldn’t have done that. I know how much it meant to you, so I kept it in here. Besides, it was all I had left of you after you grabbed everything else and left.” He looked at the comforter in Jason’s hands. “You said your mother made it for you, right? It’s yours either way, I was just holding onto it.” Jason laughed.

“Yeah, mom made it for me after dad died. Before she overdosed on cocaine. This is all I have left of her.” He gently touched the edges once again. “Catherine was a good woman, raising someone else’s kid. She didn’t deserve to die like she did. Sheila Haywood, she definitely did deserve what she got though.” Before anyone could say anything else, Stephanie returned.

“Sorry about that, I wasn’t trying to interrupt the story, Dick.” Dick grinned. Barbara shook her head.

“It’s our faults, Steph. We sometimes forget about things like that. Vampires don’t have the same body functions as humans. We sweat, cry and bleed obviously, but we don’t have to use the bathroom like you and Jarvis. We don’t have to eat either; if we do it takes a while to be absorbed into our bodies. Hence why we don’t eat much.” Stephanie gaped at everyone else in the room.

“Is that why you don’t eat? Now I feel like an idiot. Why didn’t I think of that?” She shivered where she stood. Jason threw the comforter back in invitation. Stephanie nodded her head and stretched out next to Jason. He pulled the comforter around her and wrapped his arm around her again. Barbara coughed as Stephanie snuggled closer to a flustered Jason.

“You’re not an idiot Steph. Bruce’s curse is, unusual so it makes things a little different, is all. It takes some getting used to, that’s for sure.” Stephanie grinned. She looked at Dick and nodded her head in encouragement to continue his story. Dick cleared his throat and continued.

(“Well, like I said, I was glad Mr. Simmons was trying to protect me from Mr. Wayne. I hoped he would have him escorted from the building. Before he could do or say anything else though, there was a commotion out in the hall, and Mr. Simmons dashed out of his office, leaving me and ‘Allan’ alone. I tried to avoid eye contact with him, so as to prevent him from ‘controlling’ me. Not long after I arrived at the center, I had a dream of my cousin John telling me what strega meant. He mentioned it sounded like a word for another ‘supernatural’ being. ‘Strigoi’ is a Romanian name for a member of the undead. Strigoi means poltergeist, and is a type of vampire.

“Although, truthfully speaking, I was very wrong on the abilities of a Strigoi. All I knew was to avoid eye contact so as not to let them control you. I didn’t know at the time, vampires can control a person with their voices as well. All I knew was I was alone with a member of the undead. Not a good situation for me. I knew I was in trouble, so I tried to back away from him, thinking I might be able to get away. I heard him kneel down in front of me and he touched my shoulder. I flinched and tried to shake his hand off my shoulder.

“Mr. Grayson, I’m not going to hurt you. I suppose you don’t remember me, but I was there at the circus the night. Well, I talked to you before you were brought here. I didn’t mean to scare you; I just wanted to see how you were doing here.” He paused and I thought he would get the hint and leave. “Mr. Grayson, Richard, would you mind looking at me please?” I shook my head in fear and shivered. “Would you mind telling me why then?”

“I shuddered and shook my head again. I heard him sigh and get up to walk towards the door. I heard him shut the door and I whimpered. 

“Are you afraid of looking me in the eye?” I didn’t know whether I should answer or not. I decided not to antagonize him, so I nodded my head. “Can you tell me why?” I shook my head in response. “I know I’ve somehow upset you, I just want to know how I can fix that, please.” I started to feel guilty, since he sounded so sad about me not answering him. I took a deep breath and replied.

“Are you a Strigoi?” There was a pause, almost as if he was considering what I had asked him.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what that is. Could you explain what that is?” I felt myself fidget under his stare.

“It’s Romanian. It means ‘poltergeist’, or rather it’s one of the undead.” His breath hitched and I remember thinking it was odd for him to need to do that. “Luca called you Strega and the undead can do all sorts of things. They can use magic like witches can.” I had a hard time keeping my gaze on the floor.

“You heard that? I didn’t see you when I looked up to see what the commotion was. I saw the woman pointing at me and calling me a witch. But I didn’t see you.” He paused and seemed to realize what I had said. “And as for being one of the undead, yes I am.” I gasped in fear and looked up at him. I realized what I had done and tried to look back down.

“He grabbed my chin and lifted my face up. I closed my eyes as tightly as I could. I heard him chuckle.

“Did this ‘Luca’ woman sense the magic on me that night? Maybe that’s what caused her to panic like she did. I can’t hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, I can’t hurt someone innocent. Besides, aren’t the living considered to be ‘undead’?” I thought about what he said and I realized he was right. 

“But you can still use magic though?” The question slipped out before I could stop myself. I heard him hum thoughtfully before he answered.

“You catch on quickly, don’t you? I can’t use magic myself. But I do know a very powerful witch. I was mortally wounded a long time ago, and she placed a curse on me to stop me from dying. She’s the reason I’m ‘undead’. What does a Strigoi do anyway?” I hazarded a glance at him and saw him grinning softly at me. I shut my eye again and tried not to panic.

“Strigoi are the spirits of the dead who come back from the grave to torment the family and drink their blood to kill them. He is evil and fools his family to make them easier to kill. At least, that’s one type of Strigoi. There are other types as well.”

“Ah, so the Strigoi is like a vampire?” I cocked my head to the side, and thought about his question. It certainly did sound like a vampire, so I nodded my head. “Well, unfortunately, I am a vampire. However, the curse prevents me from killing anyone by drinking their blood. That’s why you’re not looking me in the eye, since you think I can control you through eye contact. My curse lets me lose all of my abilities during the daylight, that’s why I’m out during the daytime.”

“I opened my eyes as I realized it was almost noon. The stories of the Strigoi had them being unable to walk in the daylight. Vampires in all different stories had to return to their coffins or hide underground to stay away from the sunlight. I gulped loudly and his face went from sheepish to ashamed. He held my gaze and lowered his hand to my shoulder.

“Before I became a vampire, I was a normal human, who lost his parents when he was young. It was my eighth birthday when they were shot and killed. I saw what happened to your family, and I wanted to offer you my home. I know what it’s like to lose your family at so young an age. I didn’t want to see you suffer because of what happened, and I don’t want you to think you’re alone. The choice is yours, so if you’ll let me, I like to become your guardian.” Before I could answer, he added, “I promise I won’t hurt you, the curse makes it impossible to drink from an innocent person unless I have their permission, you see?”

“I looked at him and the feeling I had when we first met came back to me. I gulped again, staring at him. I had a strong urge to believe him. He spoke like someone who had lost his parents, and years later it still affected him. I heard numerous stories about vampires pretending to be innocent to trick people, but I somehow knew he was telling the truth. 

“You promise you’re not evil? You promise you don’t hurt innocent people? That you won’t hurt me?” He seemed surprised by my question, but he nodded his head anyway. 

“I try not to be evil. I don’t hurt innocent people. I might hurt criminals, but not innocents. Not intentionally anyway. And I swear I won’t hurt you. I’m a vampire, not a bad guy, does that make sense?” It took a minute to think about it, but in the end I did understand.

“I think so. I, I trust you Mr. Wayne. As for you being my guardian, how does that work?” He was surprised at my words. 

“It means I would take you in to my home, for however long as you wanted to stay. I’m not going to make someone stay where they don’t want to. If at any time, you wanted to leave, I’d bring you back. I’d bring you back to where you felt safe. I hope you want to come with me, but as I said it’s your choice.” 

“How long could I stay there? I mean, if I did choose to go with you.” I was nervous since I wanted to leave the center so badly. I just wasn’t sure what to expect, so I was a little worried about the situation. “Would you bring me back if you found out I’m not, normal?” During the time I was at the center, I came to be ashamed to be a circus brat, a gypsy. I was afraid he wouldn’t want to be near me if he found out.

“What do you mean by, ‘not normal’?” He looked at me with concern in his eyes. I felt my eyes start to water and tried to hold back tears. He must have sensed my discomfort. “I promise I won’t change my mind about becoming your guardian, no matter what.” I sniffled and started to cry. I looked down in shame.

“Because I’m a, a g-gypsy. Everyone says gypsies are scum and don’t deserve any sort of kindness. They should all be shipped back to wherever it is they came from.” I know I was making a fool of myself, but he was being very kind to me. I wanted to leave the center, to be away from everyone there. I was so scared he’d take back his offer; I didn’t think I could take it if he decided he didn’t want me after all.

“Who told you something like that? You don’t strike me as scum; in fact, I think you’re a very good kid. There’s nothing wrong with being a gypsy. They are hard workers, and generous to boot.” I felt him wipe the tears away. “Don’t you think your family would be sad to hear you say that? I’m sure they wouldn’t want to hear you say something so cruel about yourself.” I gasped at his words.

“Sometimes kids can be incredibly cruel. It’s best to try and ignore their taunts. They just don’t want to get to know you, the real you, because being good is hard. It’s easier for them to be mean, since they don’t want to be good. I think you should instead think about your family. They loved you, and continue to love you even though their gone. I know it’s hard, but try to remember all the good, happy times you spent with them, okay?” I just broke down sobbing at his words and threw my arms around his neck.

“His words make absolute sense to me. And even better, it reminded me about my family’s love. That made me smile and it had been a while since I had last smiled so truthfully. I heard footsteps come down the hall and the door burst open. Mr. Simmons saw us and started to yell at Mr. Wayne. Before he could though, ‘Allan’ whirled around on him and proceeded to chew him out so badly about the blatant mistreatment I had received and so on. When he was finished with his lecture, Mr. Simmons looked about ready to wet himself. After that, the paperwork ‘Allan’ had had filed, was quickly processed.

“Before we left, Bobby made a smart comment about how Mr. Wayne ‘could do better than a little gypsy circus freak’. Allan turned around and gladly informed him, he’d ‘rather a little gypsy circus freak than a smart-mouthed brat who couldn’t keep his opinions to himself’. Allan drove us back to his manor, which I vaguely remember as I was having a hard time staying awake. He carried me inside and introduced me to Edmund, before carrying me to ‘my’ room. He set me on my feet at the doorway.

“Thank you for carrying me up here, but can I ask why you stopped at the door?” He chuckled.

“I can go anywhere in the manor, except any personal rooms. For example, unless I have permission to come in, I can’t enter your room or Edmund’s room. I can go in the study, the library, the dining room and so on. It’s just personal rooms that I can’t enter. If someone is using the bathroom or decides to claim a room as sanctuary, like the library or the kitchen, I can’t go in there either. One of the many downsides of being a vampire.” I was shocked, as that thought never occluded to me.

“You mean, even though this is your house, you need permission to go somewhere? You seriously need to be invited in to enter?” He nodded his head, and somehow, I got the feeling he was letting me in on an important secret. He was deliberately telling me his weaknesses, to help me be at ease and what to take advantage of in case something happened down the road. I put my hand on his shoulder. “You’re trying to help me stay on equal footing, aren’t you?” He nodded his head.

“I want you to know you don’t have to be afraid of me. That you have more power than you think you do. And if something does go wrong, you know what to do to protect yourself.” I threw my arms around him.

“Thank you Mr. Wayne.” He chuckled.

“You don’t have to call me ‘Mr. Wayne’. Just call me by my first name if you want to. Though, now you know what I am, I’m going to tell you my real name. In private, you can call me Bruce, but in public you have to call me Allan. Do you understand why?” I looked up at him. I squared my shoulders and nodded once more.

“Yes, I understand very well, Bruce.” He told me I should probably take a nap, and then later he would show me around the manor. I agreed, if only because I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. After I woke up, I got the short tour of the manor, and then Bruce proceeded to tell me more about vampires. Or rather, how he was different from most vampires. We talked until seven o’clock when Edmund served dinner. Bruce didn’t eat with me, but he did talk some more about the various supernatural beings he had met over the years. Just as I finished eating, I noticed his eyes change color from brown to blue.

“Say Bruce, why did your eyes change colors? They did that the night I saw you at the circus.” Bruce grinned and said,

“It’s a part of my curse. When the curse was cast on me, my eyes would change color depending on whether I’m mostly human or not. Tabitha, the witch who cast the curse, said that its part of the physical change wrought on by the spell. My eyes are naturally brown, so during the daytime they’re brown. But once the sun goes down, and the sun has to have set, they turn blue and my other abilities return. They turn red when I’m feeding or need to feed and they turn black when I need to compel someone.”

“Compel someone? What does that mean?” I asked curiously. 

“It can mean to make people think something different from what they remember. It’s basically the only magic I use, and even then I only compel someone when there is something important at stake. If someone saw something they shouldn’t have, I can compel them to forget what they saw. Or, if someone who knows about me offers their blood, I can put them to sleep to prevent them from feeling pain. I’ve even used it to make people think I’m my own son. But I promise I would never compel you to do or forget something, unless your life was at stake. I swear it to you, just as I swore to Edmund.” I heaved a sigh of relief when he said that, since I was a little worried.

“The next few days were spent getting adjusted to everything going on at the manor, spending time exploring the grounds and memorizing the layout of the place. Before the end of my first week there, I slowly realized Bruce was absent more and more often at night. When I asked Edmund, he only told me that Bruce went out to check on the machines after everyone had went home. It didn’t seem like a lie, but there seemed more to the story than just that. I found out a few nights later just what else was going on. 

“I had woken up to use the facilities when I heard a commotion coming from the study late one night. I could make out two voices speaking in hushed tones. I couldn’t stop myself from trying to listen in, so I moved closer. It took a few seconds to realize it was Bruce and Edmund arguing about something. I was about to get closer when they stopped and got quiet. I realized Bruce must have heard me and I turned around to try and sneak back to my room, but to no avail. Bruce grabbed my shoulder before I heard him move. I looked at him sheepishly and he sighed.

“Seeing as how you’re already awake and you live here now, there’s no point in keeping this a secret anymore.” I looked at him and saw him wearing an odd looking dark grey outfit with a long black cape. I felt my eyebrows rise.

“Bruce, what are you wearing?” He sighed again and nudged me towards the study. There he and Jarvis explained that he was ‘Batman’, a vigilante that had been around fighting crime since the late 1880’s. I hadn’t heard of him before since I wasn’t from Gotham City. He explained he did everything in his power to bring criminals to justice and suddenly what he had said previously about criminals made sense. 

“He told me the police had been unable to find and arrest the person or person’s responsible for my family’s deaths. He told me that he had been searching since the night they were murdered and asked me if I knew anything else about any threat to my family. I told him no, but I remembered the threats made to Pop and told him. He asked for as many details as I could give him. When I was finished, I asked if he would let me help bring the murderers to justice.

“Dick, what I do is very dangerous. It’s bad enough for me to be doing this, I’m a vampire. Besides, you’re too young and untrained.” Before he could continue, I angrily cut him off.

“They were my family Bruce. Why wouldn’t I want the bad guys arrested for what they did?” I paused to take a breath. “Besides, that didn’t stop you did it? You said you were eight when your parents were killed. And you trained to hunt down the man who did it.” The pained look on his face made me rethink my harsh words, and I swallowed. “Please Bruce?”

“He looked at me sadly. He looked away and I held my breath. I walked around to him and touched his arm.

“Bruce, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said to be hurtful. I just don’t want to see the bad guys get away with this. I mean, what if they hurt or kill someone else?” He looked at me again. “Please Bruce? I just want to help.”

“Dick, I understand what you’re saying, but look at this from my perspective. What if you got hurt because I let you do this? I’d never forgive myself. Please don’t ask me to do this. It’s alright if I get hurt, I’m an adult, I’ve been doing this for decades now. I have the training to be able to do this.” He paused in consideration, and it was like I could see the gears moving in his head.

“Then train me.” He shook his head. “Bruce, if not for this, then what about if I need to protect myself or someone else. Like during the daytime. What about then?” He hesitated and shook his head again.

“Your family wouldn’t forgive me if I let you get hurt. No, my answer is no.” I tried one last time, throwing all of my desperation into my words.

“Bruce, what if they come after me?” I cringed at my unkind words. “Pop used to say, ‘Circus is a family. A strike against one is a strike against all.’ So, what if, and I know it’s a weak if, what if they decide to come after me now that I’m the only member of Haly’s circus left in Gotham? Please Bruce, let me help you.” He looked at me, with surprise written on his face.

“I think you just did, Dick. The police couldn’t find a link to anyone who wanted to harm your or your family. Haly said they had no enemies. He said he was threatened for ‘protection’ money. That means someone was trying to get money out of him in order to ‘prevent’ someone from hurting anyone in the circus. The police weren’t able to link anyone in Gotham to the threats, so they dropped that angle. That’s why the case still isn’t solved four months later.

“You said you overheard the threats? Can you describe them for me? The description might be all I need to find him and bring him in.” I felt a grin form on my face. Then I realized he meant alone. I frowned at him, but I knew this could help other people. I nodded my head.

“He was tall and skinny; he wore a fedora and a nice suit. He had a rat-like face, with beady eyes. Umm, he was chewing on a toothpick, as far as I can remember.” I closed my eyes and thought back to the last time I saw him. “I think his name began with a z. Zuppo, Zurio, no that isn’t it. What was it?” I thought for a few seconds before it hit me.

“Zucco, one of his two guys called him ‘Boss Zucco’, I remember now.” I said as I brought my hand down on to the other one. Bruce stared at me in surprise and then shook himself.

“Zucco? Are you sure that was his name?” I nodded my head.

“Yeah, I mean it sounded unusual, so for some reason, I kept repeating it. To remember it, I guess. It was definitely Zucco.” He nodded his head. “Did that help any?” 

“It certainly did, thank you Dick. It’s getting late, why don’t you go back to bed. We’ll talk about this in the morning.” He didn’t say anything else, so I took it as a dismissal. I nodded and headed back to my room. I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I thought of ways I could convince Bruce to let me join him when he caught Zucco.”

“The next morning saw the same refusal to my request to help him. He said ‘no’ no matter how many times I asked. I wasn’t about to give up and I kept asking. He kept refusing. One day a few days later, his refusal got a bit heated and he yelled at me. I started to cry and I ran from him. When he came to my room later on, he knocked on my door. I turned away from the door and he sighed.

“Dick, I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to go with me to catch the man or men who murdered your family. However, I’ve thought about it and I decided it couldn’t hurt to teach you how to fight.” I turned to look at the doorway. I got up and went to the door. “Dick, I just don’t want to see you or anyone else get hurt. Please understand I’m trying to do what’s best for you. But, you’re right about learning to fight. You might need to know how to protect yourself if I’m not around.”

“I opened my door and looked at him. He looked sad and ever so slightly hopeful. I squared my shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

“You’re not trying to trick me are you? You really mean it, that you’ll teach me to fight?” He nodded his head and knelt down to my level.

“I promise I’m not trying to trick you. I want nothing more than to make you forget about going with me, but that would be a lie, and you wouldn’t be happy if I did that. I’m honestly worried, but I promise I’m not trying to trick you. However, I need your word that you’ll only use your training to defend yourself and not go out looking for fights, understand?”

“Or someone else.” Bruce looked at me strangely. “To defend myself or someone else.” He heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. “If you promise to teach me to fight, than I promise I’ll only use what you taught me to defend myself or someone else, and not go looking for fights.” He grinned and I grinned back. He motioned for me to follow him to the study. He stopped at the clock.

“If we’re going to start training you, we need to train in secret. This is one of the ways we enter the ‘Batcave’ as it were. You must not tell anyone or lead anyone to this area, at all.” I nodded my head, trying to hide my excitement at the idea of being allowed in a secret hideout. Bruce moved the hands on the face of the clock to 10:48, a small catch was released and Bruce pulled the clock away from the wall. It lead to a narrow hallway, which lead to an elevator. As, I’m sure you remember from last night.

“Back then though, it didn’t have nearly as many gadgets in it. All I knew was it was incredible. It took a few minutes for me to look around at everything down there. I just remember be in awe of everything. Then I heard and saw the bats. That kinda threw me for a loop, but they didn’t scare me at all.”)

Dick paused in his story when Stephanie gasped loudly. She clapped her hands over her mouth quickly and looked sheepish.

“I’m so sorry Dick. I didn’t mean to interrupt again, it’s just. Bats, real, honest to goodness bats?” Jason squeezed her shoulder in sympathy. Dick chuckled, but before he could reply, Jason answered.

“Yes Ma’am. Real honest to goodness bats. As far as Bruce tells it, the bats have several nests near the manor. And a lot of them live in the cave. Actually, that’s part of the reason why the bat that inspired him flew through the window. They don’t bite anyone, and because of Dick being able to talk to them, they try to keep their guano outside.” Stephanie shuddered.

“Sorry, they just creep me out.” She snuggled closer to Jason, and missed the smug look he shot the others in the room. “I mean, it’s their home, I get that. I just, don’t like them. My mom told me, when she was younger, a bat flew into her hair and it got trapped in her hair. She was afraid of them since then and passed it on to me.”

“Well, they usually listen when we tell them to try and stay out of trouble. On the plus side, Bruce has a whistle which they can hear, and they come and help if he uses the whistle.” Dick told Stephanie smirking. Bruce glared at Dick and pulled the whistle out of his pocket to show Stephanie. Stephanie gaped at him, as the others snickered behind their hands. 

“Anyway, back to the story.”

(“Bruce saw me looking at the bats and started to walk towards me to calm me down. I laughed and turned to look at him.

“Bruce, they really like you. They said you try to,” I shut my mouth as soon as I realized what I had said. Bruce looked at me curiously.

“You said ‘they said’? What do you mean Dick?” He paused a minute before understanding lit his face. “You can understand them, can’t you? You can speak to animals.” I looked down at my feet and nodded. I heard him stifle a laugh. “So that’s what she meant, when she said they’d be like me.” I heard him whisper.

“Huh? Who’s ‘she’?” I said as I looked up at him. He just grinned and shook his head.

“’She’ is Tabitha. The witch who cursed me. She told me I would find similar people to me, whom I might eventually ‘turn’ to become like me. Before you ask, I have no intention of turning you. Unless you ask me to, I like it would be better for you to age like a normal human.” I’m not sure why, but back then hearing him say he wouldn’t turn me, made me feel kinda sad. I brushed that thought away though and focused on something else he had said.

“What do you mean ‘similar to you’? Can you talk to animals too?” He cocked his head to the side and shook his head.

“No, however I can tell the story of something or someone by touching something they own. For example, if someone loses a glove, by picking it up, I can ‘see’ who it belongs to and return it. Understand?” I nodded and grinned. “Alright then, let’s start with a few stretches and see where that leads us.” And my training started.

“Bruce still went out every night, we went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. Training progressed, until Bruce came home one night and told me he had a lead on ‘Boss Zucco’. He made plans to corner him and turn him over to the authorities. Before he could, Zucco escaped into the next state. Bruce was furious and I became depressed. He continued to search until Edmund put his foot down and reminded him that Christmas was around the corner. I was stunned, since the months had blurred together and I failed to realize how much time had passed. It was almost December.

“Oh, that means my birthday is soon.” Edmund asked when my birthday was and I replied Dec. 1st. He suggested Bruce throw a party to celebrate since almost no one had seen me or Allan since I came to the manor in August. Bruce agreed and invited several people, including the Commissioner. I didn’t want them to go to so much trouble, especially due to it being my first birthday without my family. But I’m glad they talked me into it, as that was where I meet the love of my life. Commissioner Gordon had a daughter a year younger than me and was invited to bring her. I knew the minute I met her that I’d marry her.

“Christmas came and went, followed by New Years. Barely two days into 1912, I met Tabitha for the first time. She took one look at me and nodded her head.

“I knew he would soon become a member of your ‘clan’. You doubted me Mr. Wayne. Now what do you have to say?” Bruce motioned for her to follow him away, but I listened in either way. 

“I have no intention of changing him Tabitha. He’s lost his entire family, and it’s not fair of me to be selfish like that. No, I won’t do it.” She sighed loudly.

“Mr. Wayne, I would think that by now you would understand how things like this are inevitable. I’m not saying that you change him now, I see him having a ‘normal’ childhood. Never the less, one day he will need to be changed. And when that day comes, you will do it. Regardless of what your feelings are about this situation, you wouldn’t have been drawn to him, if you weren’t supposed to save his life by turning him into a creature like yourself. Now, it will be a long time coming, that much is certain, but eventually you will have no choice. That I can assure you, Mr. Wayne.” She turned toward me and winked.

“Before she left, she told Bruce she saw Zucco coming back to Gotham City. She said he would only be back for a short period of time, so Bruce started to plan how to capture him. I asked once again if I could help and once again I was told no. This time however, I wouldn’t take no for an answer. When Bruce heard Zucco was spotted in Gotham, he went that night to catch him. He didn’t realize I had taken some clothes and modeled them after my old circus costume. Mine had long since been lost. I grabbed a small mask and had stuck it on while in transit.

“I knew Bruce would be mad, but I needed to be there to see it through. I clung to the trunk Bruce had on the back of his 1906 REO model B. When he came to a stop, I quickly leapt off and hide behind the nearest building. He didn’t see me and dashed away before I could track him. Fortunately for me, I heard the fighting and took off towards the sound. When I found him, he had defeated the two goons with Zucco, but Zucco was still standing. Batman darted toward Zucco but stopped after being shot. Zucco laughed and pulled the hammer back to shoot again.

 

“I guess what they said about you bein a vampire was true after all.” Without thinking, I leapt at the gun and the shot went wild. I tried to get the gun out of his grip, but he knocked me away. I went to tackle him and he turned the gun at me. Before he could pull the trigger again, Batman had him pinned against the decrepit building. He yanked the gun out of Zucco’s grasp and told him it was over. He glared at me and told me to wait at the door.

“I was upset that he would send me away like that, but the look in his eyes told me to go. I turned to walk away when I heard one of the cronies start to get up. He pulled a gun and had it aimed at Batman and I called out to him. Zucco managed to slip from his grasp and he took off. The goon fired at Batman, diverting his attention. I had a second to decide to chase Zucco and went after him. He climbed up a ladder to get to the second floor. I climbed up after him and he turned to look at me.

“The movement caused the floor under him to break and he fell. I darted over to him as he scrambled to get a handhold. I looked at him and had a second to think he would fall just like my family. I shook my head and held out my hand. He grabbed it and I started to pull him up. Batman was there to pull him the rest of the way. He looked at me again and nodded. Together we dropped the three off at the station. When we got home however, things got very loud.

“We must have argued for hours, before Bruce allowed me to continue to be his partner. He asked what my ‘alias’ would be and I came up with the name ‘Robin.”)

Jarvis knocked on the door. Everyone turned to greet him. He placed the bowls of soup before everyone present and turned to leave.

“Dick, why did you decide to call yourself ‘Robin’? I mean, I like it, just why did you decide on a robin?” Stephanie asked before she started in on her soup. Jason and Jarvis stopped in their tracks as well. Dick cleared his throat and swallowed thickly.

“It was my mother’s nickname for me before she died. She said when I flew on the trapeze; I was so graceful I looked like a little robin.” He replied softly. Stephanie looked at him in sympathy. Barbara ran her hand up and down Dicks back. Jason stared at Dick.

“Wait, you mean to say, it was in remembrance of your mom?” Dick nodded his head. “Huh, I thought robins were your favorite bird and that that’s why you decided on it.” 

“Well, robins were my mother’s favorite bird too. I like them very much but no. I chose Robin as a codename because it was my mother’s nickname for me. And it was partially for her, why I was doing what I did. So, to honor her and my family, I became Robin.” Dick replied. Jason winced a little.

“Well crap, now I feel bad for saying it was a lame name. Sorry about that, Dickie.” Dick raised his eyebrow at Jason.

“It’s in the past. Don’t worry about it, Jay.” Stephanie snorted and went back to her soup. She immediately turned to Jarvis as he went to leave the room.

“Jarvis, how do you make such wonderful food? I’m serious; I wish I could cook half as well as you do. This soup is delicious.” Everyone else in the room voiced their agreement. Jarvis brushed aside the compliments and left the room. Everyone finished their soup and Jarvis returned to gather the dishes.

“Well, I guess it’s back to the story now.” Dick stated.

(“The partnership of Batman & Robin, the dynamic duo as it were had begun. Whereas Batman brought fear to the criminals of Gotham, Robin served as a ray of hope for the innocent people of Gotham City that justice would win. This continued for about a year, it was just before Halloween that year when I first encountered Two-Face. To spare as many details as possible, he managed to separate me from Batman and he proceeded to beat me to within an inch of my life. Batman got there before he could deliver the final strike, but the damage had been done. Bruce took that opportunity to try and ‘retire’ Robin. Yeah, that didn’t end like he had hoped it would. I knew even then that he just wanted to protect me, but I also knew there was no way I could just give up what I had been doing.

“When he brought me home, he tried summoning Tabitha, fearing he would need to change me then and there. She arrived soon after and explained that while she would need to use her magic to save my life, it was not the same as what she had done to him. She cast a spell to speed-up my recovery time, and to prevent me from bleeding to death. Bruce thought it was time for me to stop being Robin and we argued. We continued to argue on and off for the next few months, before we reached an agreement. From then on, I was to increase my training and to wear more armor in my costume.

“Things continued like that until I turned sixteen. I was getting older and was thinking about changing my name and costume, but I wasn’t sure if Bruce would try to talk me into retiring. All I know is, before I could talk to Bruce about it, we first encouraged a new vigilante who called herself ‘Batgirl’. We began to investigate this person and eventually discovered her identity: Barbara Keane Gordon. The girl I had first met on my tenth birthday. We eventually confronted her and told her we knew her identity. She turned the tables on us and told us she knew of our true identities.

“We brought her to the Batcave and she revealed she had discovered our identities a few months before she took up the mantle of Batgirl. She told us she had become Batgirl so that she could help her father capture supernatural creatures, who were able to hide from the police. Bruce was reluctant to let her continue her exploits, but he eventually agreed on the condition that she would listen to his orders. The three of us continued to fight crime for over a year. We eventually fought Two-Face again and this time he shot me off the top of a building. Batman was able to rescue me, but Two-Face got away. I knew Bruce wanted me to quit, now more than ever, but I told him I needed time to think about it.

“So I went traveling, in order to find myself. I was no longer the innocent little kid I had been and I needed to grow up. My travels lead me into Nova Scotia, where I stumbled onto a cave that housed a hidden room. The room had numerous unknown symbols written almost everywhere. I called Bruce and he came to see the room as well. We both believe the symbols were the remnants of a lost language spoken on the edge of Nova Scotia. We wrote down all of the symbols and began to decipher the language. We returned to Gotham City and Barbara helped us figure the symbols.

“We deciphered the language and began to translate the stories of two people called ‘Nightwing’ and ‘Flamebird’. I liked the named Nightwing and decided to adopt it as my new name. The First World War had ended before I had turned eighteen, and several of Gotham’s sister cities were in need of some serious help. I decided that it was time for me to head out on my own. Bruce definitely wasn’t happy, but he agreed that I needed to do this. I moved to Bludhaven and began to make a name for myself. I still came back to Gotham City to help on occasion, but Batman and Batgirl were taking care of things on their own.

“Until Batgirl was paralyzed by the ‘Joker’. He killed his current host before we could catch him, and his current witch disappeared before we could apprehend her. Barbara obviously survived, but was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Instead of letting this rule her life, she took up the role of ‘Oracle’ and helped Bruce and I from behind the scenes. The situation worked far better than most people would think, as she had access to her father’s files and used that information to help us track down the criminals. I returned to Bludhaven just before my 21st birthday. 

“The criminal element had tapered off, but only because the city had been quarantined. Someone had contracted tuberculosis and had accidently started an epidemic of sorts. I spent most of my time there helping out as a relief worker and I did everything I could to bring some small measure of peace to those infected. I wasn’t aware I had contracted the disease until the coughing started. I knew it was entirely possible to contract it, but I didn’t care. The disease sometimes takes a while for someone’s health to decline, but not always. I was one of the ones it set into quickly. By the end of two weeks, I couldn’t get out of bed.

“Bruce managed to sneak in without anyone noticing. He asked if I felt well enough to return to the manor, and as much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t.

“Sorry Bruce, I knew this was possible, I just didn’t care. I know this hurts you to see me like this, but I can’t help it.” Bruce patted my sweaty face to comfort me. All he did was cause me to shiver more. He squeezed my shoulder.

“Dick, I don’t want to do this to you, I don’t want to put you through this. But if you choose to, I can change you into a vampire like me. I don’t want to see you suffer like this, but I know changing into a vampire will be hard on you. It’s your choice to do what you want. Even, even if you choose to die to be with your family.” He stated as he squeezed my hand. I grinned at him to calm him down and started coughing. After what seemed like an hour, I finally stopped and slowly, painfully caught my breath.

“I miss my family Bruce, but I can’t leave you alone either. You, Edmund, Tabitha, Babs, I’d miss all of you.” I weakly gripped his hand. “Please Bruce, do it. I knew you were going to have to change me anyway, this way I’m giving you my permission to do it.” He looked at me with a stricken look on his face. “Bruce, no father should have to bury his child. I want you to change me into a vampire, please.”

“He looked at me for the longest time, eventually he nodded his head and his eyes started to turn black.

“I’m going to compel you to sleep until we get back to the manor. You won’t wake up until I tell you to and you won’t start to cough or choke during that time either. Compulsion is the only time I can use my magic, understand?” I nodded weakly and felt my eyes close. When I woke up next, I was in my old room at the manor. Bruce was there with Tabitha who was holding a small doll of some sort. She grinned at me and began to speak.

“Mr. Grayson, it’s good to see you again. If you truly want to do this, I will do everything I can to make the transformation as painless as possible.” I looked her in the eye and I nodded. She looked at me with a relieved expression. She nodded to Bruce. “Bite your wrist and have him drink your blood. As you are the head of this clan, your blood is capable of turning anyone into a vampire.”

“Bruce nodded and bit his wrist, placing it over my mouth. I knew I was supposed to drink his blood, but it took a few seconds to force myself to do it. The taste was absolutely horrible, but before I could turn my head away Tabitha held my head still. I looked up to see her holding my head still with one hand and holding Bruce’s arm with the other. Eventually I began to feel something burning throughout my body. I felt as if my limbs were made of molten lead, and my stomach began to clench painfully. Breathing had become more unbearable then before, and my vision had become blurry.

“Tabitha removed her hands and Bruce stepped back from me with regret etched into his face. I remember gritting my teeth against the pain I felt. Tabitha said something I didn’t hear, and Bruce picked me up. He moved me from my bed to outside at the cemetery without me noticing. I saw Tabitha telling someone to do something and she turned back to us. She had a chain in her hands and walked back to us. At this point, I could feel sweat gathering on my forehead. I could feel it scalding me as it rolled off my forehead.

“Mr. Grayson, it’ll be over soon. Mr. Wayne and I have told you numerous times that the ritual would cause immense pain. You are strong though, and I know you will persevere. Once the transformation has finished, you will sleep and recover until the magic lets me know when it is safe to dig you up. It will be alright, I promise.” She bent over and kissed my forehead. Then she began to wrap the chains around me. I felt me heart start to pulse painfully and I bit back a cry. Bruce placed me down and when I looked at him, he avoided my gaze. Tabitha opened my mouth and stuck something in my mouth.

“Bruce shook softly and backed away from me. I almost choked and felt my breathing slow down. Tabitha motioned her hand and something was placed over me. Then I knew I was in a coffin, and I knew what was going to happen next. I tried to fight down my panic, but I couldn’t. I felt my fingers and toes curl up and I felt my body start to convulse. I think I heard Bruce’s voice in my head, but all I really remember is the pain. Overwhelming pain the likes of which I had never felt before.

“Not long after, I thankfully lost consciousness. The next thing I knew, was the feeling I wasn’t alone. I turned my head and I heard Bruce’s voice.

(“Thank goodness you’re alright Dick. I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up. Which Tabitha has repeatedly told me wouldn’t happen. She told me once I give someone of my ‘clan’ my blood, as long as they want to live, they will survive the transformation.”) I felt myself breathe out a laugh and realized breathing was much easier than it had when we had started the ritual. I heaved a sigh as Bruce called to Tabitha. Once the dirt had been removed, Bruce told me to hold my breath before they removed the lid.

“I did as I was told and they removed the lid. I opened my eyes and saw Bruce and Tabitha looking down at me. Tabitha jumped down and gently pulled a strip of wood out of my mouth. She motioned for a bowl to be lowered and turned to me. She helped me sit up and put the bowl to my lips. I didn’t realize I was so thirsty until I started drinking. Once I was through, she undid the chains and told me to stand up. And she and Bruce started my training. It wasn’t long until I was able to return to patrol.

“One night on patrol, Batman and Nightwing stumbled on a grizzly scene. One of our most obnoxious enemies is a vampire who calls himself ‘Penguin’. On this occasion, Penguin and an unnamed partner had almost succeeded in beating an innocent woman to death. As we got closer, we realized the woman in question was none other than Barbara. My vision went red and I lit into Penguin like he was a ragdoll. Somewhere along the way, Barbara had become a member of Bruce’s clan and Bruce had no choice but to turn her.

“Before she gave her permission to be turned by Bruce, she told us the unnamed man was her younger brother, James Jr. She told us he had been trying to kill her since he was seven and she was eleven. Batman prevented me from killing either of them and we handed them to the police. In the meantime, he told me to give Barbara some of my blood to stem the flow of blood. My blood wouldn’t turn her into a vampire, it would only stop her blood lose until Bruce could change her.”)

Dick finished his story and looked at Barbara. She looked at him and rolled her eyes. She laughed.

“I guess that’s my cue to take over the narrative.” She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. She looked at Stephanie. “Do you need me to take a break, or are you alright for now?” Stephanie looked at her sheepishly.

“If people would stop pouring my drinks, I wouldn’t need to take so many breaks.” She replied as Jason stopped in pouring her another glass of water. He grinned at her weakly when she looked at him sharply. She shook her head and grinned at him as he placed the pitcher back on the tray. Barbara and Dick laughed.

“It’s only to replace the blood you lost this morning. If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t keep pouring you water.” Stephanie nodded as she pulled the comforter off of her. She got up and made for the door.

“Sorry, I really don’t want to keep interrupting the story. Especially since I asked for the whole story.” She left the room and returned a few minutes later. She sat down next to Jason and wiggled up next to him. She pulled the comforter back over herself. “Alright, I’m ready now.”

“Alright, well to begin, I was born Barbara Keane Gordon, April 18th 1903. My parents were Barbara Keane and James Gordon. My mother and father divorced when I was two and my father remarried Sarah Essen less than a year later. My younger brother James was born shortly after my fourth birthday. And my life took an unexpected turn for the unusual when I first met Allan Wayne and his ward, Dick Grayson. From then on, my life was never the same.


	10. Chapter 9: The Past Revealed (Barbara's Part)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses for the long delay of this chapter. I got roughly ¼ of the way through this chapter and just couldn’t find it in me to want to finish this chapter. I am extremely sorry for the wait, I only hope you all like it. 
> 
> The comics that tie-in with the Young Justice cartoon and the awesome graphic novel, Batman: The Black Mirror are going to be the majority of my knowledge of Barbara. As well as a few bits from ‘The Killing Joke’ as well. This story will not mention The Birds of Prey as at the time, there were no other female crime fighters in Gotham City.
> 
> I’m not sure how much younger her brother James is so I wrote him as being 4 years younger. He’s a very disturbed individual, so please don’t get mad at me about some of the things he does. He’s deranged in the comics, so I wrote him as such. Please don’t hate me for it. Here’s hoping I don’t screw up Barbara’s personality. Thank you all for sticking with me.
> 
> One last note, towards the end of the chapter, Babs talks about the obsessive attraction between ‘mates’. So for those of you who don’t like romance, I’m apologizing in advance. There might be some innuendos throughout the rest of the story, but I will warn you in my an’s if anything citrusy will happen. I seriously don’t think I’ll write anything like that, but I’m not certain. Please keep a look out in my notes. 
> 
> Also, before I start on Jason’s story, I have Jason tell Steph she’s a psychic. And Jason does get a little sappy when he talks about Catherine, because she was his only ‘parent’ outside of Bruce.
> 
> I would like to give a big, warm thank you to TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, SamTheKingOfHell, Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 20 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank mtsukai, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx, SamTheKingOfHell & TheJokerQueen13 for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. Seriously, you all have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you all so much, I sincerely hope I don’t disappoint any of you.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 9: The Past Revealed (Barbara’s Part)

 

“Alright, well to begin, I was born Barbara Keane Gordon, April 18th 1903. My parents were Barbara Keane and James Gordon. My mother and father divorced when I was two and my father remarried Sarah Essen less than a year later. My younger brother James was born shortly after my fourth birthday. And my life took an unexpected turn for the unusual when I first met Allan Wayne and his ward, Dick Grayson. From then on, my life was never the same.”

(“To be honest my life wasn’t normal to begin with, what with my father being the commissioner of police and he and mother divorcing. Divorce was very rare back then, and a lot of people blamed my mother of having cheated on my father or some other reason. The real reason was, my mother just couldn’t take being married to my father and constantly worrying about if he would come home or not. Dad on the other hand, was constantly dealing with the numerous criminals that call Gotham home. So when mom suggested getting a divorce, he agreed on the condition he would still be able to see me. Mom agreed and they filed for divorce. During this time, my mother told me that I started mentioning strange things or words that somehow happened some distance away or fairly soon after. I only did this about once a month starting around the time I turned two.

“Mom and dad both chalked it up to lucky guesses about things I must have over heard them say. Bruce told me later that he believed it wasn’t coincidence that I mentioned these things, it was because I had the ability of foresight. Before I was changed, anything I ‘saw’ usually happened within a day of when I saw it. That was one of the reasons I changed my name from ‘Batgirl’ to ‘Oracle’, which I’ll get to later. After being turned though, the ‘premonitions’ or ‘visions’ as it were began to occur as least once every few days. Sometimes it’s something small, like humming the tune of a song a few minutes before it plays on the radio and so on.

“Anyway after the divorce, which went through rather quickly for the time, dad met and began dating my step-mother Sarah Essen. They married a few months later, and less than a month after I turned four, my younger half-brother James Jr. was born. I split a lot of my time between both parents, so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to my brother’s behavior. It was only when he was seven that we realized there was something really wrong with his sanity. He was always quiet as a baby and it took him a long time before he began to speak. Sarah thought that maybe he was ‘slow’, which didn’t matter to her, because she still loved him. Never-the-less growing up was mostly normal. 

“One year, shortly before Thanksgiving, dad brought in an invitation to the birthday party of the ward of ‘Allan’ Wayne. Dad was invited and so were we. We made plans to go, but Sarah and James got sick the day before the party. Dad wanted to stay home and take care of them, but Sarah talked him into taking me and having a short break from work. I didn’t want to go to be honest, as I was under the false assumption that Mr. Wayne was going to have a lot of snooty, rich people there who would judge us as being unworthy of being there. Dad took me, and it was the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I met Allan and Dick, and I’m ever grateful that I did. Dick was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met and he became my best friend.

“There was something about Allan though that had the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It was only years later I found out why. Allan was nice enough, so I did my best to ignore it. I was invited over many times to visit and I noticed that the visits almost always ended with Dick ‘suddenly’ needing to do his homework. Whenever I asked if we could do our homework together, I’d get these vague answers and be brushed off. I didn’t question it because I didn’t know why it was so important that he study alone. Edmund always drove me home, where Sarah and James were waiting for me. Some nights before I went to bed, I’d catch a glimpse of two shadow figures as they swung or ran across the tops of buildings.

“As I got older, I noticed James start to exhibit some unusual behavior. It started small, like throwing rocks at people as they walked past or ignoring when we told him not to go outside alone. Then one day, I saw him crouched over something small not too far from where we lived. I walked over to him to ask what he was looking at, and saw it was a bird laying there. I asked him what happened and he turned around and I saw him holding a rock. The bird as it turned out, had been hit repeatedly, killing it. The rock had blood on it and so did James’ sleeves. He had beat the poor bird to death and acted as if nothing was wrong.

“I was shocked and asked him if he had hit the bird. He looked me straight in the eyes and said no, he had only been trying to help it. I knew though that he was lying. James walked past me and shot me a creepy little smile and didn’t say anything. When dad got home, I told him and Sarah. They both shrugged it off, but did keep an eye on him to make sure nothing was wrong. He acted like nothing was wrong and went about his business. Still, I watched him like a hawk because something told me he was up to no good. 

“The following summer, we went out of town for a two week vacation. I made a friend named Emily while we were there and we exchanged addresses to keep in contact. A few days before we left, I introduced her to dad and Sarah. James showed up out of nowhere and I introduced him too. He said something rude which caused Emily reply in disgust and leave. I didn’t see her the rest of the night, but we got the news that she never made it home the evening before. A search party was formed and dad helped look for her. They didn’t find her, but I knew she was dead.

“I didn’t tell anyone, since I was afraid no one would believe me, or worse, that someone would accuse me. I was walking around the woods near the cabin we had rented and noticed James digging for something. I snuck up as quietly as I could and he never heard me. He buried something and after he finished replacing the dirt, he got up and walked away. I waited for at least ten minutes to be sure he was gone and I dug up what he had buried. I discovered a small box that looked like something Emily had carried once before. I opened it and saw, to my absolute horror, a blood stained rock and Emily’s locket. That’s when I knew without a shadow of a doubt, that my younger brother was a murderer.”)

Barbara shook herself, as if to clear the image from her head. Stephanie gasped in horror and gripped Jason’s arm tightly. Dick pulled Barbara into a hug and rubbed her back. Barbara took a shuddering breath.

“Unfortunately, when I told dad, he didn’t believe me. He said that without a body, he couldn’t do anything. I was furious and didn’t talk the rest of the way home. As we aged, James seemingly went out of his way to antagonize people so that they would attack him in some way. Then they ‘disappeared’ and were never seen or heard from again. I’m ashamed to say that I did nothing to get my brother the psychological help that he definitely needed.” Dick made a noise like a growl and pulled Barbara from him with a look of anger.

“You couldn’t have done anything to help that little psychopath, Babs. He was sick and twisted from childhood onwards. Normally I would give him the benefit of the doubt, but he almost got you killed twice and tried to kill you himself. Sorry Babs, he lost any sympathy I would normally have for people like that. That’s not including the numerous victims he killed, tortured really. So no, this was in no way your fault. Never forget that, he was the one to blame.” Dick replied firmly as he looked into his wife’s eyes. Bruce walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Whether that’s true or not Dick, I still should have told someone. Maybe then no one else would have died.” Barbara answered as she brushed Bruce’s hand off her shoulder. “It might not be my fault that he did what he did, but I should have told dad what I saw. It’s my fault they died, even if I didn’t do the act, I’m still the reason they died.” Barbara finished before Dick could stop her. Dick sighed heavily and shook his head. Stephanie had the sudden urge to hug Babs.

“Babs, you weren’t sure if anyone would believe you if you did tell someone the truth. You were still young and didn’t know if they would believe you. I know that doesn’t make things any easier, but it’s the truth. Please don’t blame yourself. Who knows, even if you had told, they might not have taken your warning seriously. What could you have done then, hmm?” Stephanie asked her honestly. Babs looked at Steph and sighed.

“Maybe it wouldn’t have changed anything, but someone else would have known about it.” Barbara said. Stephanie shook her head.

“And what if you had told someone else and they believed you? What if they had started watching your brother and he attacked you in retaliation. Or he could have attacked the person you told. That would have another victim. Besides, you sound like you kept a close watch on him, so maybe you prevented him from killing other victims, did you think about that?” Barbara gaped at Steph, as if she hadn’t thought about of that before. Bruce and Dick looked at her in pride and Stephanie felt her face heat up. Jason chuckled as he pulled her closer to him.

“Thank you for saying that Miss. Brown. It’s good to know that someone else thought about that.” Bruce complimented her and Barbara looked at him pointedly. Dick laughed and hugged her again. Barbara sighed and relaxed into the hug. She looked at Stephanie and smiled.

“I guess you’re right, Steph. I just feel like I should have done something. That’s not something a person gets over easily. Still, I suppose my keeping an eye on him might have slowed him down.” Barbara reached across the table between them. Steph reached and Babs grasped it. “Thank you for pointing that out.” She released Steph’s hand.

“Anyway, it was shortly after that that I met my first supernatural creature.”

(“I didn’t trust James and tried to keep an eye on him to make sure he wouldn’t try anything like that again. I had stopped visiting Dick and ‘Allan’ as much as I had when first met. One evening though, after visiting I decided to have Edmund drop me off at the park. When he asked me why, I replied that I wanted to walk the rest of the way home. That I wanted the exercise. So he hesitantly agreed. I started walking through the park and was almost at the other side of the park, when I heard a scream. So I ran to the scream and discovered a woman pinned to a tree by a tall man.

“I yelled at the man to leave her alone. He didn’t hear me, but she cried for help again. I took one of my shoes and chucked it at him as hard as I could. I really should have paid attention to the fact the sun was down, because when he turned around I saw his eyes glow red. He had blood dribbling down his chin and I could vaguely see his incisors were longer then they should have been. He looked at me and quirked his finger at me. Something inside told me to run, but before I could his eyes turned white. The next thing I remember is lying on the ground near the lady, who was still alive.

“Dad was standing next to me as someone was applying bandages to my neck. Dad tried to say something to me, but I couldn’t hear him. My vision faded to black and I woke up in the hospital. I woke to darkness and didn’t know how I got there. There was a tiny click that came from the door and it opened quietly. I saw a short figure peek his head inside my room and stop when he saw me awake. I tried to ask who he was, but my words caught in my throat and I started coughing. The figure darted towards the table next to me.  
“He held a glass of water and helped me sit up enough to drink from it. I shook my head when I had had enough and he removed the glass. It took a few minutes to calm down enough to form any words. I looked at him and stared at his colorful costume.

“Who are you? And why are you here?” I asked as I realized I was alone in a room with someone I didn’t know. Let alone the fact I still felt weak from whatever happened earlier. The figure tensed and sighed. He stood straight and even in the dim light of the room, I saw him grin.

“The name’s Robin. And Batman and I are investigating the man who attacked you earlier this evening.” He paused for a few seconds before finishing. “Do you feel up to answering a few questions about what happened? If not, I can come back when you’re feeling better.” I looked at him confused. I turned my neck to look away and felt a pain in my neck. I touched my neck and felt the gauze.

“I touched it and suddenly remembered what had happened. I gasped and looked back at Robin. He held his hands out toward me, to reach out for me I guess. I think I started to whimper, because he hesitantly hugged me with one arm. The other arm slowly rubbed my arm in comfort. I calmed down, somehow knowing he meant me no harm. When I had calmed down enough, he released me and stepped back. He opened his mouth to say something, but I spoke first.

“I’m alright now, thank you. For that I mean.” I inhaled somewhat shakily, and continued. “What, what did you want to ask me? I’ll try to answer as best as I can.” He looked at me.

“Are you sure? I mean I can come back to talk to you.” I stared at him and felt myself smile. I nodded.

“My father, he’s the commissioner as you probably know, said you and Batman could be trusted. So, if dad hasn’t told you anything about this evening, he either doesn’t know what happened, he’s gathering evidence or he doesn’t know if he should try and solve it by himself. He said to trust you, and I do. So ask away, I’ll do my best to answer.” He gaped at me, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Eventually he cleared his throat.

“Alright then, just a few questions. First question, what happened? In other words, how did you come to be attacked?” I glared at him to let him know I already knew what he really meant. He nervously scratched the back of his head. “Umm, why don’t you just tell me everything that happened this evening? Let’s start there.” He grinned at me sheepishly and I just shook my head at him.

“I proceeded to tell him what had happened from when I left Wayne manor to the man trying to get me to come to him. I didn’t know if I should tell Robin about the man drinking blood from the woman, but the gauze on my neck reminded me that people had seen the bite marks on the both of us. I looked him in the eyes, or where I thought his eyes were since he wore a mask with white lenses. It occurred to me then, his lenses should have scared me after seeing the man’s white eyes. They didn’t though and instead somehow reassured me of his goodness. I swallowed as he took notes and hummed to himself. He looked at me and tensed.

“What I’m about to ask you now, mustn’t be discussed with anyone else, not even your father. Unless it becomes a matter of life or death, do you understand, Miss. Gordon?” He looked so serious; I had to suppress a shudder. I nodded my head in answer. He took a deep breath and spoke. “Do you believe in vampires?” I stared at him in disbelief. I wanted to shake my head and question his sanity. 

“But as I thought about it, it certainly made sense. I shook my head, because it was absolutely ridiculous. Vampires were fantasy, they weren’t real. There was just no way they were real. He looked down and sighed heavily. He looked at me again and asked me to describe the man’s appearance. To my shock, I couldn’t recall exact details; just his long hair, his ‘fangs’ and his eyes changing color.

“They often compel people to forget certain details. You’re lucky he didn’t erase all of the details from your memory. They lady he attacked was still unconscious when I came here. You were the only eyewitness we could question. We don’t know if he was run off by someone else who hasn’t come forth, or if he was through drinking blood from the two of you.” He bowed and headed toward the door. Before he could leave, I found myself asking aloud,

“Wait, you talk as if you’ve fought ‘vampires’ before.” I heard him suck in his breath. That’s when it hit me. There had been rumors that ‘The Batman’ wasn’t human. That there was no way he could still be able to fight after having fought thirty-three years. No normal human could be able to keep fighting that long without slowing down. Batman was a vampire, that’s how Robin knew how they ‘compelled’ people. “Are you a vampire?”

“He whirled around and shushed me. He made his way back over to me. He stared at me.

“No, I’m a human. Why would you ask such a question?” He was flustered, but I knew I was on the right track.

“You know how these ‘vampires’ think. And they say Batman’s some sort of monster. That leaves several options, but the one that jumps out at me is that he’s a vampire.” I met his gaze and stared at him again. He cringed and sighed heavily. “So he really is a vampire then? Why haven’t you told anyone?” He shook his head violently.

“You can’t tell anyone what you just said. There are numerous people at risk if you repeat this.” He let that sink in before he continued. “Besides, who would believe us if we told people Gotham is home to vampires, werewolves, witches and so on? Even more important, there are people in Gotham trained in the art of hunting these supernatural beings. People who won’t care who they have to endanger or kill just to get one creature. I know you might want to tell someone, but you can’t tell anyone. If you can’t keep this a secret, Batman will erase your memories of all of this.”

“He crossed his arms and he held my gaze to make certain I understood what he was saying. I gulped. I realized he was telling the truth and I nodded my head.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone about the ‘supernatural creatures’ that call Gotham home.” He kept staring at me long enough to make me fidget. He nodded his head at last and he relaxed. That’s when another thought occurred to me. “It’s just the two of you who fight them, right? Only two people who fight crime and supernatural beings? That’s awfully dangerous isn’t it?” He shifted his feet.  
“  
Well, someone has to do it, right? Besides, we’re trained to handle it.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “We know what we can and can’t do, and we don’t want to burden anyone else with the danger we encounter. We chose to do this and we don’t want to draw anyone else into it.” He turned one last time and opened the door. “Remember, you promised Miss. Gordon, and we’ll be holding you to your promise.” And then he left.

“I looked at the door for a good long while after that. I mused over what I had been told, and I came to a conclusion. I most definitely would keep their secret, as well as do my best to prevent anyone else from learning about their true ‘quest’. I wanted more than anything to help them, and that’s when it occurred to me. I would help them hunt down the bad guys and help bring them to justice. I had heard my father tell me more than once that Batman only wanted to bring criminals to justice, which was why he didn’t kill any of them. Either way I wanted to help them. I would train my hardest and eventually become their partner so that I could help them succeed.

“It certainly seemed like an outrageous thing to decide to do, but dad had been teaching me how to fight since I was five, so I wasn’t completely without fighting skills. In fact, when dad came to visit me the next morning he asked me why I hadn’t fought back. I wanted to tell him about the man being a vampire, but then it occurred to me that dad hadn’t encountered any supernatural creatures. Talking to Robin had given me the impression that only Batman and Robin fought these creatures. Robin had implied that no one in the GCPD knew how to fight vampires or werewolves. At least, I seemed to pick up that implication. Robin had tried his hardest not to talk about how he and Batman fought. I told dad the man had attacked me before I could defend myself.

“I asked dad to help me learn more fighting maneuvers. Dad seemed disappointed that I hadn’t gotten a good look at the man, but his worry about me caused him to agree to further my training. I trained as hard as I could, spending a lot of my free time practicing. I practiced and trained for three years, and a few months after my fifteenth birthday, I fixed myself a suit and cowl, similar to Batman’s. I had been watching to see their silhouettes for some time, and I was trying to memorize their movements and routes they took. It was about a month of being out there on my own before we ran into each other. Needless to say, the first meeting didn’t end too smoothly. I kept on trying to talk them into letting me help them, unfortunately even the amount of training I had under my belt couldn’t help me keep up with the two of the swinging away.

“One night I stumbled onto a money drop. I got there before Batman, so I was determined not to mess up. I got as close to the men as I could without giving myself away and waited until I believed I could get the drop on them. Unfortunately, just before I could move, I had a premonition. I saw the leader of the gang pulling one of his guns and shooting the mayor in the daylight. I froze just long enough for someone to see me and start to shoot. It was only the lucky arrival of Batman and Robin that saved my life. The men got away even though we all chased after them.

“After they got away, Batman turned to me and asked me what I was doing, if I was trying to get myself killed. I told him I was trying to help them.

“The next time you want to help, just stay out of it, Miss. Gordon.” I gasped in shock, because I didn’t know how I could have given myself away. I had done everything in my power not to reveal who I was. I shook myself though and squared my shoulders. “You almost got yourself killed, and for what? So you could brag about taking down a few gang members? It’s not worth it, so stop doing it.” He and Robin turned to walk away.

“Fine, I’ll admit you’ve got me dead to rights. I wanted to help you and my, I mean the commissioner. But just so we’re clear, I know who the two of you are as well.” Robin flinched but Batman kept walking away. I hoped he’d be able to hear me as I whispered, “Mr. Wayne.” That made him stop in his tracks. He turned and glared at me.

“I knew I should have erased your memories that night.” He motioned for me to follow them. We walked towards a vehicle which had been modified into the precursor of the ‘Batmobile’ that people know today. There were two seats in the front and one seat in the back. He motioned for me to get in the back and after they got in we took off. I thought about where we might be going and I began to get nervous. Neither of them spoke during the ride, which only made the trip more nerve-wracking. We came to a waterfall and I watched as automated doors opened to reveal a tunnel. We drove further in before we came to a stop.

“You have a lot to explain, Miss. Gordon.” Batman spoke as he cut off the engine and exited the vehicle. I took a deep breath and followed him. I stood in front of them and shuffled my feet. “Why are you really running around at night? You can’t possibly be doing this for your own good, so why?” I cleared my throat.

“I’m doing this so that I can help you two. Or, in the extremely rare chance that something should prevent you from taking down one of the lower ranking bad guys, I’m doing this to help the commissioner. When I first decided to do this, I wanted to help you two take down any supernatural creatures that may be out there. However, as time passed, I realized the commissioner didn’t know about any werewolves or vampires. So I decided that since I knew about them, I’d do what I could to try and defeat them. I’m not so naïve as to think I can take them down, just to weaken them enough for them to be brought to justice. I want to do whatever I can to protect the city, even if that means risking my life by doing this.” Batman was silent a minute, before he pulled his cowl off.

“How did you know who I was? There was no way anyone could have known.” I shook my head and tried to hide my little smirk. I swallowed once more and continued.

“The truth is, over the last few years I had taken to watching the two of you as best as I could. I noticed, that whenever I saw you, ‘Batman’ I noticed something. Every time I saw you, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Robin confirmed that Batman is a vampire, and had been around quite a while. So it occurred to me that he had to have had a fair amount of money in order to maintain his skills. And there has only ever been one man who fits that requirement and makes the hairs on my neck stand up; Allan Wayne. After I made that connection, I realized Robin made his first appearance less than a year after Allan had become guardian to one, Dick Grayson. I figured that out a few months before I started doing this.”

He looked me in the eye and held my gaze. I heard Robin shift and sigh. I looked to see him pulling his mask off of his face. Batman spoke to me then.

“I always knew you were clever Miss. Gordon. Now however, I’m going to have to ask you to stop. It’ll be for the better if you stopped doing this before you got hurt. I appreciate your honesty, but I don’t think your father would appreciate what you’re doing. If I have to, I will compel you to forget all of this, regardless of your good intentions. After all, ‘the road to Hell is paved with good intentions’. No, it’s best if you just stopped doing this all together.” He finished as I shook my head in panic.

“No Mr. Wayne, please don’t do that, I just want to help. What if I did everything you told me? I’m a really fast learner. Please, Mr. Wayne?” I stopped when I remembered the vision. “Wait, I can still help you. I know where he’s going to strike next. He’s going to shoot the mayor tomorrow.”

They both froze and looked at each other. Dick looked at me and spoke.

“Bruce, what if she’s right? We’ve been tracking this guy for weeks. It might not hurt to have another pair of hands for this.” Batman, Bruce rather, sighed in exasperation. He shook his head and turned to me.

“And where exactly did you come by this information, Miss. Gordon? There’s no possible way he would have mentioned this during the meet.” He watched me suspiciously. I felt my face heat up in anger. He meant that he thought I was either making this up or was secretly working with the leader. I clenched my fists.

“First of all, Mr. Wayne, I don’t appreciate the insinuation in your voice. Not only is it very rude, it’s unfounded. Second, I’m only doing this to help my father, so if I can in some way help him, I’m going to do what I can to help him track down the bad guys. Third of all, “I paused as I realized my anger was getting the better of me. I looked down at my feet and scuffed my shoes on the ground. I felt ashamed at my outburst and I softly whispered, “I saw it in a vision.”  
He tensed and walked towards me. I took a step back and held my breath. He must have sensed my hesitation, because he stopped a few feet away.

“Miss. Gordon, did you just say you had a ‘vision’? As in you saw a glimpse of the future? Is that what you meant?” I felt tears come to my eyes and swallowed to keep from crying. He calmly bent over and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Miss. Gordon, Barbara, I didn’t mean to sound accusatory, I’ve just seen and heard numerous people turn on their co-workers and bosses. I’m sorry if I offended you, I don’t think you would ever do something like that. I just can’t afford to overlook anything, do you understand?”

I looked up at him and saw the deepest blue eyes I had ever seen. Even though he still made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I knew he was telling the truth. I decided once more to trust him, and I haven’t regretted it since. I nodded once and looked at Robin, to see him grinning widely at me. I looked back at Mr. Wayne.

“I don’t know where it’s going to happen, only that Vickers is going to shoot Mayor Hill tomorrow evening. He was using a Smith & Wesson .38 special, model 1899. It looked black, with a small piece of the right side of the grip missing.” I saw him looking at me with a look of surprise. He motioned for me to continue. “I’m sorry Mr. Wayne, that’s all I saw in the vision. Mayor Hill was shot in the head and killed. I wish I could tell you where the attack will be, but I couldn’t see it.” He grinned at me and squeezed my shoulders.

“It’s alright, you told me far more than you think you have. Thank you for that.” He sighed once more and looked over at Robin. Robin nodded once and Batman stood up. He motioned for me to follow him and led me to a long table. There were numerous pictures and a few blueprints laying spread out on the surface. There was also a map of the city, with several black marks at different locations. They then proceeded to explain everything they knew about the gang. 

“We spent the next few hours going over what we were going to be doing the next night. It took some finagling but we were finally able to work out a plan to capture Vickers. They helped me get back home without anyone noticing and the next night, they arrived to pick me up so that we would all be there when it went down. The plan worked well, and Vickers was arrested. I thought that was the end of it and started to head home, but Batman stopped me from leaving. When I asked what was wrong, he led me to my father. I was afraid he was going to tell my dad who I was under the cowl, but he only introduced me as his newest protégé; Batgirl. I was now officially a member of the team.

“Since I was new, he and Robin decided to start training me in various forms of defense, detection and stealth. He had explained his curse and I knew what to do to ward him and other vampires off. He spent the next few months teaching me how to defeat the supernatural. I took to it easily enough, so he thought it was time I learned how to travel through the city on the rooftops. That’s where my training hit a snag. I like to think I’m quite agile, but I had absolutely no grace when it came to swinging. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get the hang of it. It frustrated me to no end until Robin stepped in.

“From that point on, Robin would be the one who taught me how to move like he could. We tried and tried several times to help me learn. Finally, after numerous failures, I broke down and cried. I was completely frustrated by my lack of skill and I apologized to Robin, Dick rather about wasting his time. He just calmly grinned at me and told me his trick to being able to swing.

“It’s alright to be afraid of heights, Babs. I understand completely. If you’d like, I can tell you what I do when I swing every night.” I looked at him and nodded my head eagerly. He grinned at me and said. “Well, my family had three rules for staying alive on the trapeze. The first rule was: ‘Pick a point.’” I looked at him curiously.

“What that means is, pick the point in space you’re headed for and never look away, even for a second.” He smirked at me when he saw I understood what he meant. We tried again and again I failed. He kept encouraging me and continued his speech. “My family had two more rules, in case the first didn’t work. In case you felt yourself giving into fear, sliding, losing your grip. Starting to fall. Rule two: Build yourself a net.

“Or rather, build a safety net out of plain, simple facts to stop the panic, to steady yourself. For example; ’my name is Dick Grayson. I am 16 years old.’ And so on and so forth, you see?” I nodded my head in agreement. “However, if rule two doesn’t work, if you still can’t shake the fear and your grip isn’t holding, there’s the final rule for staying alive. Number three: ‘Pray you land somewhere soft.

“Or at least, pray you land somewhere safe, this is Gotham after all.” He stepped back and let me try one more time. I took a deep breath, counted to ten released my breath and tried again. This time, when I visualized where I needed to go, I felt myself tense. So I began thinking of what Dick told me. I began reciting every fact about myself I could, and when I went to land, I tried to curl myself to land safely. I stumbled, having caught my foot. It took a few seconds to right myself, and I realized; I had done it.  
“I heard Robin land behind me. I turned to see him grinning widely at me.

“I knew you could do it. You just needed to think about something other than the height.” He pulled me into a strong hug and I kissed him on the lips. He seemed startled at first, before relaxing into it. That was our first kiss, and one of the best I’ve ever had.”)

Jason snickered out loud as he tried and failed to cover his mouth. Dick shot him a glare and Stephanie elbowed him in the ribs. He calmed down.

“Sorry Babs, you know I have to give you and Dick grief every now and again. But seriously, you were afraid of heights? You’re not afraid of anything.” Babs shook her head in amusement. 

“You don’t know me very well then, Jay. I’m not as afraid now, but I do get scared every now and then. Back then, I was terrified of heights, so of course it took me a long time to get the hang of it. That’s why Bruce had Dick teach me how to swing, since he loved flying from rooftop to rooftop. That and he’s closer in age to me. Once I got the hang of swinging, I started learning everything I could to help Bruce and Dick, as well as my father. At home though, I began neglecting my self-imposed watch of James. That almost ended up costing me my life.”

Stephanie looked at Barbara in surprise. She saw Dick tighten the grip on Barbara’s hand.

“What do you mean by that, Babs? Surely you don’t mean he tried to kill you? But, Dick did say your brother tried to kill you, at such a young age?” Barbara nodded her head. 

“He told me years later, that I was the only one who ever kept an eye on him. No one else did that, and so he wanted to show me just what he was truly capable of doing.” She took a deep breath and continued her story.

(“By now, I was spending as much time as I could training and fighting alongside Batman and Robin. It wasn’t until roughly half a year into things, that I realized James was watching me somewhat intently. It unnerved me, but he made no move to plot against anyone or attack anyone, so I decided to overlook it. Which was a big mistake for me. One night, after returning home, I was changing into my pajamas to go to bed, when I heard a noise down the hall. I knew that dad was still at the station, so I thought it was Sarah. I went to look for the cause and heard the noise coming from James’s room. I opened the door and saw him staring out the window, swinging his foot against his bed.

I began to ask him why he was up so late, when he turned and looked at me. He smiled this strange, knowing little smirk at me and spoke to me. His words sent chills down my spine and I panicked at the implications. He told me,

“I saw you swing over from the building next door, ‘Batgirl’. You need to be more careful, if you don’t want dad to find out what you’ve been up to these last few months. I promise I won’t tell him, you can trust me sister.” He only ever called me sister if he was plotting something and I was trying to stop him from doing it. His next words though, had me turn and run back to my room. “It’s not just dad you need to be careful about, who knows who else might want to hurt you? After all, haven’t you been helping to take down criminals and gang members? What do you think would happen if any of them found out?”

He grinned at me and turned back to look out the window. I ran back to my room and pushed my desk chair against my door, somewhat fearful of what my brother might do. I began to panic about whether he would tell dad or not, and I didn’t get any sleep that night. The next morning when we ate breakfast, I kept looking at James and he ignored me. I decided to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t do anything. I didn’t tell Bruce or Dick out of fear that James would tell dad. The next few weeks, I didn’t go out, instead staying home. One night, Dick as Robin stopped by and tapped on my window.

I didn’t answer him and did my best to ignore him, even though I knew I was irritating him. Finally he left and I felt myself heave a sigh of relief. The next evening, Sarah got a call from one of her friends and had to leave. Dad would be home by 10:30, so she asked if I would mind babysitting James for a few hours. I told her I didn’t mind and she left to visit her friend. I was doing my homework in the kitchen, when I remembered not hearing James for a short while. I went to his room to check on him and couldn’t find him. I walked into his room to look for him and something hit me in the back of the head.

The next thing I knew, I was tied to a chair in the basement, and directly in front of me stood James. He had a deranged gleam in his eye as he looked at me. Then he began to speak to me.

“You didn’t think you were the only psychic in the family did you? That’s how I knew how to get you to lower your guard around me, with foresight just like you. I’ve seen a lot of things, which has lead me to figure things out. I’ve known for a while that you were Batgirl, the other night was just confirmation. And you never suspected I’d do something like this. You’ve been watching me so intently for years now, and you never realized I was just the same as you. Oh well, it’ll be a while before dad gets home and by then, I’ll have had time to rearrange things to look like a home robbery turned bad.” He grabbed a knife and proceeded to cut and stab me.

Some of the cuts were shallow, some were deep and none of them were to my face or hands. The stabs were either to my legs or arms. This went on for roughly ten minutes or so and as I began to black out, the door to the basement came flying down the stairs and something black knocked the knife out of his hands. The last thing I remember was Robin untying my hands and asking me to stay awake. When I came too, I was once again in the hospital. Dad and mom were both there sitting by my bed. They grabbed my hands when they saw I was awake. I saw the worry and relief on their faces and I started to cry.

Dad told me about how Batman had saved my life. Apparently, he had seen some unusual shadows moving around in the house when he was running across the rooftops. He thought the shadows belonged to robbers and so looked for the point of entry. When he couldn’t find one, he almost gave up, figuring the shadows belonged to me and James. Then he saw James dragging my unconscious body down the steps to the basement. He spent the next few minutes checking the house out and broke in. This ended up saving my life, since he heard my screams after entering the house. Robin arrived just after that happened and the two rescued me.

He told me about how Robin had been the one who to bandage my wounds while Batman had captured and handcuffed my brother. Then about how the two of them raced me to the hospital, not even stopping to drop James off at the precinct with dad. Mom started crying as she told me how scared she had been when she had gotten the call that I was hurt. She said that the doctors had told her about my severe blood loss and that I might not make it. She hugged me as tightly as she could and told me how relieved she was that I was alright. Dad got quiet and just watched me and mom. He stepped out for a while so the two of us could talk. 

Bruce and Dick came to visit shortly after and mom left. Bruce went to the door to check that no one was within hearing distance. He nodded his head and I immediately asked what had really happened. Dick started the explanation.

“When I checked on you the other night and you ignored me, I came to ask what was wrong, why you hadn’t been helping us. I came to ask where you had been. I came back to check on you that night, only I couldn’t find you anywhere in the house. I called out to Bruce mentally to tell him something was wrong. He mentally replied he was on his way. I heard one of the birds outside trying to warn me of someone dangerous in the house. I spoke to the bird and he told me the boy that lived there was really violent and hated small animals. He said that the boy liked to kill any small animals he came across.

“I heard something inside and peeked through the window to see your brother dragging you down the hall. I didn’t know why he was dragging you, but it was obvious you were unconscious. The bird said that your brother was the one who killed the birds and squirrels. That’s when I knew what you had mentioned about him was true. I waited until both of you were gone from sight to force open the window. Bruce got there after I got the window open and crawled in. I motioned towards the front door and darted to open it when I heard you screaming. Normally he has to be invited inside by someone who lives in a place or by someone seeking sanctuary, however since you were in danger and you’re under his protection, he can come inside as long as someone lets him in. I did that.

“After I let him inside, he can’t come back in without an invite since it was a one-time thing, he took off towards the basement. He had your brother pinned to the wall by the time I got there. There was so much blood, I almost ran out of bandages. Then you passed out and everything else was a blur. That’s all I can tell you about what happened.” Dick finished his story and grabbed my hand. “We were really worried about you Babs. I thought you might die.”

I looked him in the eye and noticed the shadows under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days, so I asked how long I had been out for. Bruce replied that I had been unconscious for four days. I was stunned, but I smiled and squeezed my hand once. Dick looked up at me and I winked at him.

“My hero. I would have expected nothing less from either of you.” I nodded at Bruce and was relieved to see the two of them relax. “Thank you, both of you. If you hadn’t gotten there when you did, I’d be dead now.” The next few days went by slowly, but the end of the week brought the news that I would be released. Mom wanted me to move in with her; however I convinced her that everything was going to be alright if I stayed with dad.

The truth is that mom lived in another city and while I missed her deeply, I couldn’t move in with her and still be able to help Batman and Robin fight crime. Mom was under the impression that I didn’t want to move because of a boy. She wasn’t entirely wrong, just not for the reasons she believed. Once I was back on my feet, I went back to helping Bruce and Dick. This continued for a little over half a year, when we faced off against Two-Face and Dick was shot. I felt guilty since I hadn’t fought against someone like him before; I had no idea of what he was truly capable of. For some reason, my premonitions had tapered off to almost nothing and I had no warning of any kind about Dick getting shot.

Bruce was adamant that Dick retire from crime fighting, and I had a sneaking suspicion that he might use his hypnotic trance to ‘suggest’ that Dick quit. Even then it was a silly, unfounded fear. Bruce would never do such a despicable thing as that. But I was still afraid that he would do something drastic. Once Dick was able, he decided to go on a road trip and try to ‘find’ himself. Two weeks later we got a call from Dick telling us about the cave he found. Bruce went up there and came back nearly a month later with Dick in tow. To this day, I’m not sure how we deciphered the text, only that we did.

We read the stories of ‘Nightwing’ and ‘Flamebird’ and how they saved the day in every story they were mentioned. Dick took a liking to the name ‘Nightwing’ and the rest is history. We fought together for a few months more, before the former ‘boy blunder’ left to take up residence in Bludhaven. Batman and Batgirl seemed enough to be able to protect Gotham by themselves. Unfortunately, my lack of premonitions almost led to my downfall. They had tapered off after James tried to kill me, and for some reason, they almost didn’t return. Bruce was worried it was because of stress and wanted me to rest, but I didn’t listen.

As it happened, one night while on patrol, I felt a curious urge to stray from my usual patrol route. I didn’t question it as that had happened before. I hurried on my way and ran smack dab into a trap. I heard someone screaming for help inside an abandoned warehouse and without thinking, I headed in. I ran into Harley Quinn, who was holding the screaming person over a tank of Piranhas. She seemed disappointed that I wasn’t Batman, and cast a spell to prevent me from moving. The ‘victim’ was actually the Joker and he was the one who came up with the idea to use me as bait.

I tried to fight back, but her spell was strong. Batman arrived sometime later and instead of attacking Batman, the Joker shot me in the lower back. I can’t tell you what happened next, mainly because I was in too much pain to realize anything else. I later found out that Batman had had to choose between saving me and arresting him. Joker took the decision out of Batman’s hands by killing his current physical body. Harley and the book escaped just after that. Batman rushed me to the hospital, where he had to work his compulsion to get the doctors and nurses to prevent them from finding out about Batgirl. I found out that the bullet had rendered me paralyzed.

Do to my severe injury, I had to break down and tell my father about being Batgirl. He was angry at first, but later admitted that he wasn’t more upset about not seeing it for himself. He never asked if I knew who Batman and Robin or rather, Nightwing were. He was more concerned with my being injured. Back then, being paralyzed was almost essentially a life-ending occurrence. It’s not as though being paralyzed was a bad thing, it’s just that being confined to a wheelchair meant that there only so many things I could do. It meant that I either needed to move into a building that had been built with wheelchairs in mind, that I could only do certain things. I’m lucky I was able to get a job as a librarian at the Gotham City Library, which fortunately had been built with wider aisles.

It took a while to accept that I was permanently wheelchair bound. But once I did, I decided to make the best of my situation and began looking for ways to help out Bruce and Dick, as well as my father. I spent more time talking to my father and with a little finagling; I began helping him with cases that were giving him problems. Mainly they were cases that involved gang members, the predecessors of the Maroni family to be precise. One day while talking to dad about the cases, I had a powerful vision. One of Maroni’s men was holding my father at gunpoint and killed him. I was so startled, I forgot dad was sitting across from me. I wheeled over to the phone and called Bruce.

I told him what I had seen and warned him that it would happen the next day. Instead of mentioning my ability had been a little less than trust worthy, he had Edmund pick me up after dad went to the station. I apologized for the intrusion, but Bruce shook his head and had me repeat what I had seen. I wasn’t able to tell him the name of the man, so Bruce told me he would take me down to the Batcave. When I pointed out the obvious, he casually picked me up out of the wheelchair and carried me to the elevator.

“Bruce, not that I’m ungrateful, why can’t I just wheel to the elevator?” He shook his head.

“Neither of the elevators that lead to the Batcave are wide enough for you to do that yet. I’m in the process of adding one that is.” I shook my head in exasperation.

“Since when do you have more than one elevator? I know you have four ways down here, including the one in the study.” I paused and gulped in hesitation. “Besides, why would you even bother? On the off chance I needed to go to the cave?” He tightened his grip ever so slightly.

“Well, I actually have five ways down here. The second elevator is in the pantry in the kitchen.” He looked me in the eyes as he spoke. “As for why, well you’re a part of this family. So why wouldn’t I make the necessary modifications?” We exited the elevator and continued towards the main desk he used for studying and planning. He walked around to a large chair that seemed out of place, until I realized it was an older model of wheelchair. He set me gently in it and walked around the table as I got comfortable.

I marveled at the thoughtfulness of it and looked toward him. He was watching me with a small grin on his face. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out.

“How did you know? I mean, I know you plan things out meticulously, but what made you think of this? My visions have been terrible for the last few years, so why even believe me when I mentioned the one I had earlier?” He chuckled slightly and grabbed the folder from the desk and opening it. He spread the photos in it in front of me.

“Truthfully, I knew you would come here to help out in some way. It’s not in you to give up or abandon something. You are just as stubborn as myself and Dick. As for why? Let’s call it a hunch. Besides that, even though your visions weren’t as good as they had been, you haven’t been wrong about any of them. True, a few facts might have been wrong, but overall they’ve been correct. It was only a matter of time before they returned to your previous ability.”

I looked at him and felt the doubts I had been struggling with for the last two months melt away. Something that had been shifted ever so slightly after the shooting, righted itself and the world felt right again. I looked at the photos and pointed to the man I saw in my vision. And it was just like it had been before, with the two of us planning every single detail. The next day, Batman saved my father and arrested the man. Bruce teasingly called me a little prophet. Edmund suggested that I was more like an ‘Oracle’.

“’Oracle’, huh? I like the sound of that.” I thought of it for a minute and nodded my head. It seemed appropriate that I should change my name like Dick had. Just because I was unable to run across rooftops like I had as Batgirl, didn’t mean that I couldn’t continue to help Bruce and Dick as Oracle. And this way, I had access to more of the information then I had before, since dad felt comfortable with secretly giving me information about the cases he was working on. As well as being able to gather information from numerous areas around the library. Everything was going great, especially after Nightwing, who had been in Gotham since the shooting, went back to Bludhaven and helped me gather information from there as well. Then, a little over a year later there was an outbreak on tuberculosis in Bludhaven and the city was quarantined.

All of us were worried about Dick, but aside from letters and phone calls, we couldn’t do much to check in on him. Even though Bruce went every week and snuck in to check in on Dick, we couldn’t really do much to help him. The outbreak had both a positive and a negative side effect on Bludhaven. The positive side effect was that the major criminals were forced to cut their losses and stop their illegal activities, since most of their partners were either sick or preoccupied with sick loved ones to keep committing crimes. The negative side effect was that most of the medicine that was being used on the patients was stolen and there was a panic on the population. On top of that, numerous thefts were committed in order to pay for the medical bills of sick patients. Nightwing wore himself out trying to return the stolen medicine and trying to curb the thefts. And at least five times, the stolen medicine was turned around and ‘sold’ to the public for lots of money. As a result of the crimes, Nightwing spent more and more time around the patients and doctors, and as Dick Grayson spent several hours volunteering to help.

Just being around tuberculosis is risky, since it’s very contagious. We knew from Bruce’s observations that Dick wasn’t getting much rest and was wearing himself thin. Even so, it took me by surprise when I had a vision of Dick in bed, coughing up a lung. When I told Bruce, he became alarmed and said that he should check on Dick. I left the manor, suddenly afraid of what would happen if Dick would die. Later that night, Bruce called me to confirm that Dick was dying. I asked if there was anything I could do, but Bruce only said that I should stay from the manor for a few weeks. He told me everything would be alright.

I got a call from Bruce a week later, saying that he had brought Dick home, but instead of keeping him there to live out the rest of his days at the manor, Bruce told me he was going to turn him into a vampire. I was shocked. Certainly Bruce was alright as a vampire, but I had seen the types of things vampires were capable of and I was afraid of how Dick would respond to being turned. I knew he wouldn’t do anything despicable, but I wasn’t sure about what his urges would cause him to do, or how it would affect him mentally. Bruce explained that his curse would be transferred to Dick and that nothing bad would happen to Dick’s compassion and goodness. He told me it would take a few months to help Dick work on his newfound skills in order to help him learn how not to hurt innocent people. I was still a little worried about Dick, but I knew he wouldn’t stop until he figured out his limits. I spent the next few months working on my own and helping dad take down several criminals.

Then the day came where Nightwing returned to active duty, and once I saw him, I knew there was going to be trouble. All it took was one look at him, and I started thinking of his naked body. It was a little known fact that Dick and I had slept together before I was shot. We had dated for a long while before he moved to Bludhaven, hence why I was so worried about him. But we had broken up mutually and went on to date other people. Once he became a vampire however, he wouldn’t stop watching me. It took a while for all of us to realize that another part of the curse was that any member of the ‘clan’ once turned, would be unable to stay away from their ‘mate’. It might take a while for them to find said mate, but when they did it would be like pulling teeth when it came to letting them walk away.

In other words, once they find their mate/partner/soulmate, they become obsessed with them and it’s very dangerous for the two of them to be apart. Unless both of them are vampires, in which case both sides are affected. Somehow the love and affection between the two, becomes a physical lust which consumes them both, if they’re not both vampires. Their mate is essentially the only one they see, which can cause problems if they’re both involved in fighting like Dick and I were. Which means that they become careless of their surroundings and any danger to them is ignored. Once both are vampires however, whatever obsession there was before settles down and the need for nearness helps them both significantly. Of course, the need for sex is still there, it just becomes easier to tolerate.

And unfortunately, after I started working at the library, I became friends with a man at work. We were good friends only. We weren’t dating or anything of the sort. Dick knew I was friends with him and was glad I was making friends. After he became a vampire however, he became jealous of the man and tried to beat him up. It took me talking him down and Bruce pulling him off to get him to stop. He became horrified about what he did and did everything in his power to make amends. At that point though, I had had enough. 

It was one thing for me to find myself thinking about him non-stop after his return, it was one thing for him to always find me and flirt with me, it was something else entirely for him to start beating an innocent man for a selfish reason. I told him that we should go our separate ways, until we could get things worked out between us. Unfortunately, I spent so much time thinking about him that I almost lost my job. Dick returned to Bludhaven and things got worse for the both of us, with me missing obvious clues and Dick getting sloppy and getting more and more injured. Eventually though, we began to find our rhythm and were able to work together with few mistakes. It was right around this time that my brother James broke out of Arkham Asylum, along with a low-level vampire named Oswald Cobblepot. Also known as ‘The Penguin’, Cobblepot had been one of the earliest gang members Bruce encountered, before disappearing. When he returned two decades later, he had become a vampire and was able to get away with more crimes.

Batman was able to finally pin him to a murder a few months earlier, and he was sentenced to Arkham. As a vampire however, he became vulnerable, almost useless during the day and required blood to survive. My brother saw this and struck a deal with him; he would bring Penguin blood and protect his body during the daytime, in exchange for help escaping. Penguin agreed and, when the time was right, the made their escape. Batman and Nightwing began their patrol and I was at home that night. I should have known that something was going to happen; I hadn’t had any visions for a few days. In any case, I was unprepared for them when they attacked me. I was able to hold them off for a while until James overpowered me.

They dragged me to the bridge, which was under construction, and James began stabbing me. Just like he had years earlier. Only this time, I fought back. He stabbed both of my legs and flipped my wheelchair over knocking me on the floor. Penguin became inpatient and began beating me with a wooden beam. James laughed and taunted me about my being so powerless to stop them. He told me about how he had tried to poison me when he was seven. How he had only failed to do so when I dropped my cup and spilt the tea he had put lye in.

Then he told me he was going to let Penguin drain me of my blood, and then he was going to throw my body into the water where no one would be able to find it. He almost succeeded, if Batman and Nightwing hadn’t gotten there when they did. I was scared that I was going to be killed and no one would know what happened to me. Penguin had picked me up and was getting ready to drink my blood when Batman barreled into him. I only recall an unearthly growl coming from somewhere behind me after I hit the ground. Then I was being lifted gently and I heard Bruce speak to me.

“Barbara, you’ve got to wake up. I know you’re in a lot of pain, trust me, I understand, but you need to wake up. I don’t know if I can keep Nightwing from killing them. He won’t listen to me.” It took longer than I want to admit for me to realize what he said. Nightwing was beating them up and couldn’t be stopped. I swallowed painfully and tried to speak.

“Nightwing,” I croaked miserably, “you have to stop. Please, don’t kill him. He’s my brother, James.” I chocked on something tasted like blood, but I kept on. “This isn’t like you; you’re not cruel or vicious.” I felt my strength waning as I spoke once more. “Come back to us, Nightwing. Come back to me.”

I felt Batman shift me carefully and delicately push several spots on my torso. Each touch, sent spikes of pain shooting through my body. I moaned miserably and I heard someone else beside me. I opened my eyes to see Nightwing look at me with an anguished look on his face. He grabbed my hand and tentatively squeezed it.

“Why did he do it, Babs? Why did he try to kill you?” I sighed, before hissing in pain. I shook my head to clear my vision.

“I don’t know. He’s clairvoyant like me, and he said that he tried to kill me when I was eleven. I don’t know why though.” I shifted without thinking and hissed again at the pain. Batman must have said something to Nightwing telepathically, because I only heard Nightwing’s verbal answer.

“Babs, I can give you some of my blood. It won’t turn you like Batman’s can; however it can temporarily heal some of your wounds. The only problem is that it won’t last long and it’ll hurt worse after it wears off. If you want to, he can give you his blood and turn you. It’s your choice; we’re not going to force you. No matter what we might want to do.” He looked so sad; I didn’t have the heart to hold his gaze. I looked at Batman and he nodded his head.

“Give me some of yours, Nightwing. I’ll decide the rest after we get back to the cave. After, you call the police.” He looked relieved and pulled one of his gloves off. He bit his wrist and placed it at my mouth. The taste was terrible, but I refused to back down. He pulled his wrist away as I felt my broken bones knit back together painfully. He hesitantly took me from Batman and the next thing I knew was being in the Batmobile. 

I spent some time working through the pain as I tried to make up my mind. If I agreed to let Bruce turn me, there would be no turning back. I wouldn’t be able to hide what I had become. I’d more than likely have to leave town. And I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hide it from dad. In fact, the more I thought about it, I knew there was no way to not to tell dad, unless we used compulsion, which I knew we wouldn’t do unless it was necessary. But if I told my dad, I’d have to tell him about Bruce and Dick being Batman and Nightwing. And even further down in my thinking, was the wild thought about whether I’d be able to walk again.

Before I realized it, we were pulling into the Batcave. Edmund was waiting on us and helped Nightwing get me upstairs. They got me to bed, and Edmund stayed with me while Nightwing changed his clothes. He came back up and held my hand, never saying anything, just sitting there next to me. Bruce arrived around the same time Dick’s blood started to wear off. To my surprise, Tabitha was with him. She smiled at me kindly and spoke.

“Hello, Ms. Gordon. It’s been a while since we last spoke; however I know you probably don’t feel like speaking right now. Mr. Grayson told you of what you can do; now the choice is up to you. Do you wish to live, as a vampire? Or do you want the pain to end? We can’t force you to choose one or the other, only you can decide. Just remember, if you want to live, even a small bit, you can be turned.” She looked at me and waited.

The pain began to return in intensity, and I wanted it to stop. Before I could reply however, I needed to know something.

“If I say yes, can I tell my father? Or will that cause trouble for us?” I hissed out a breath as the pain caused a spasm to go through my body. Bruce looked worried and Dick looked close to tears, but again Tabitha drew my attention when she spoke.

“If you choose to be turned, you can tell your father whatever you want. I know Mr. Wayne wishes to keep his identity a secret and with good reason. Never the less, this would be a rather fortuitous thing. He can help all of you if you tell him. Either way, only you can decide, Ms. Gordon.” She looked me in the eye and nodded her head. I took as deep a breathe as I could and replied.

“Please, Bruce. I want to live.” Dick gasped and Bruce backed a step away. There was concern on his face, even as he lifted a hand towards me. “Bruce, I know this is going to hurt. You and Dick told me about it, but I’ve decided that I want to do this. I want to stay with you all, I want to help my dad. Please, do it.”

Bruce braced himself and nodded once. He bit his wrist as Tabitha motioned for Dick to step outside. Tabitha sent Dick away as Bruce placed his wrist above my mouth.

“I’m sorry about how much this is going to hurt, Barbara. But since you decided to do this, all I can do is see this through. Whatever you do, don’t tense up. Dick and I both did that and it made the pain worse.” He placed his wrist over my lips and I tried not to gag as the blood dripped into my mouth. I had though the taste of Dick’s blood had been bad, this was much worse. Still, I swallowed slowly and for a minute, nothing happened. Then everything happened, seemingly all at once.

Bruce and Dick had told me before of all the pain they had experienced during their transformations, but actually living through it was something else altogether. Between the seizing muscles, the bones reknitting, my heart beating weakly and then painfully and the intense heat I felt radiate throughout my body, I seriously began to reconsider my decision. Before I could try to say something, I felt the chains wrap around me. Tabitha patted my arm in sympathy and placed a strip of wood in my mouth.

Dick kissed me gently in the fore head and grinned at me as Bruce placed me in a coffin. They placed the lid over me as I began to feel my organs start to shut down. I felt my nails grow and my incisors lengthen. I heard the chant and I could have sworn I heard Dick say something just before I blacked out. The next thing I was aware of, was how quiet it was. I tried to shift to look around and realized I was now a vampire. Then I realized something important I had almost forgotten. Bruce spoke to me, but I didn’t hear him as I tried to wiggle my toes. 

I was afraid I was going to still be paralyzed, until I felt my toes respond to my commands. I was so happy and excited, I didn’t realize I had been dug out until I heard Tabitha speak to me.

(“Ms. Gordon, I know you’re awake. You’ve proceeded to scare Mr. Wayne and Mr. Grayson by not responding to them. Is everything alright?”) I startled badly. I nodded my head and tried to convey my discovery.

(“I’m very sorry, everyone. I just needed to see if I could move my toes. It’s been so long since I could, I just needed to know. And I can.”) I felt myself beam with pride. I heard Dick cheer and Bruce sigh in relief. Tabitha jumped down and had the lid removed. She helped me sit up and removed the strip before having me drink from her bowl. She undid the chains after and stepped back.

“I want you to stand up, Ms. Gordon.” She told me politely. I hesitated for a minute and gathered my courage. I slowly slid one foot under my body as I braced myself against the coffin. I swallowed once and eased the other foot under. I sat crouched like that for what seemed like an eternity. I began to stand, hoping that I would be able to do it. Then I rose to my full height and, encouraged by my success, I took a step forward.

I almost stumbled, as my knees went weak, but I caught myself. I took another step and didn’t falter. I grinned at Tabitha and then Bruce and Dick. They clapped and reached down to pull me up. I hugged Tabitha then reached for their hands. After that began my training.”)

Barbara paused in her story to look around her. Bruce was staring at the fireplace, Dick was grinning at her, and Jason was listening to her while watching Stephanie. Stephanie was smiling as well. Barbara stretched her arms over head, before turning to look at Bruce.

“Bruce was adamant that he come with me when I went to tell my father. Let’s just say that didn’t go to well.” Bruce sighed loudly and Dick laughed. Bruce turned around to face everyone. He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk.

 

“Barbara’s downplaying the situation. Commissioner Gordon was livid at me and attempted to attack me. I’m lucky he didn’t have a wooden stake or silver. It took him a few moments to remember he had iron handcuffs. Fortunately, Barbara had managed to coax him off of me. It took a while before he forgave me as either Bruce Wayne or Batman. As it was, he was more concerned about what I had done to Barbara.” Stephanie looked down at her lap.

“It must have been nice having a dad that cared that much.” Jason looked at Steph and wrapped his arms around her in a lose hug. Dick glanced at Steph in sympathy.

“Steph, I’m sure your dad cared about you. He must have shown it somehow.” Dick replied. Steph gave a short laugh.

“The only time I remember him caring about me, was when one of his ‘friends’ mentioned that I would ‘make a damn fine looker’ when I became of age. The way he said it, made chills run up my spine. And dad pushed him against the wall and said to keep his hands away from me.” Jason tensed and clenched his hands. Dick and Babs stared in shock.

“Did he try to, you know, force himself on you?” Barbara asked quietly. Jason backed away from Steph and ran his hands through his hair. Steph turned to look at Jason.

“Well, he tried. Dad did teach me a few boxing moves. When he tried a few weeks later, I broke his jaw. “ Jason exhaled loudly. Steph timidly placed her hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Jason I’m fine, I promise. The asshole got what was coming to him. I broke his jaw and he was arrested a few hours later for assault and battery.”  
Barbara nervously cleared her throat, and began speaking once more.

“In any case, dad was furious about what had happened to me. Although, there was no disguising how proud he was that I could walk again. I told him everything I could about the supernatural inhabitants of Gotham City. He was mad a Bruce about keeping this hidden, but he understood why he had. Dad spent more time working with Batman, Nightwing and the newly returned Batgirl, and helped to bring about a newer way to hold the supernatural. 

Throughout all of this, the sexual tension between Dick and myself had intensified. Tabitha later explained it was because of the curse. Once one of Bruce’s ‘children’ found their ‘soulmate’, nothing would stop them until they could be with said soulmate. And, since all of us are vampires, there’s a serious sexual component. Vampire exist on blood, as well as physical intimacy. Dick and I had a hard time keeping our hands off of each other. 

Dad didn’t think it was a good idea for me to stay with Dick, he felt that it was because of the curse. That it was only because of me being a vampire. But he saw how much Dick and I loved each other. He was hesitant at first and only agreed to give his blessing if we got married. It took some finagling, but June 21st of 1924, we were married. And we’re still going strong 40 years later. Of course, we’ve learned over the years how to keep from drawing attention to ourselves while out in public; but in the privacy of our bedroom, let’s just say we’re ‘wild’. 

We moved to Bludhaven after we were married and we continue to fight crime together. We come back every so often to visit Bruce and make our presence known as Nightwing and Batgirl. Unless Batman needs our help, in which case we get here as soon as possible. Obviously, we go through changes to our outfits to make it seem as if we’re different people fighting as ‘Nightwing’ and ‘Batgirl’.)

 

“And that’s the gist of my story.” She looked at Jason, who was looking away from everyone else. “Well, Dick and I have to go to the library. And Bruce said earlier that he had to work on something in the cave, so we’ll leave the two of you together. See you later Steph.” Babs and Dick stood up and headed for the door, as Jason sighed loudly.

“Sit down and shut up. All of you.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know the three of you want to hear about what happened while I was away, so just back down.” He looked at the couple, who were standing there looking surprised. He looked at Bruce. “You too, old man. “ Bruce looked torn between relief and concern.

“Jay, you know you don’t have to tell us. Steph asked for the whole story, but that doesn’t mean that you have to tell us if you don’t want to.” Babs replied diplomatically. Jason shook his head and pointed to the loveseat the couple had just vacated. Steph looked around in confusion, but didn’t say anything aloud. The couple hesitated, before sitting back down. Bruce sat in the chair at his desk watching as Jason took a deep breath.

“Steph asked for the whole story, and I agreed I’d tell my part.” He looked Steph in the eyes. He grabbed one of her hands and brushed a kiss on her knuckles. “I’m not proud of some of the things I did in the past, so I reserve the right to gloss over some facts, alright?” Stephanie nodded her head solemnly. Jason squeezed her hand.

“Right, well, before I begin; I’d like to point out something important. All four of us are psychic; Bruce has his psychometry, Dick can talk to animals, Babs is clairvoyant and I’m pyrokinetic. Which means I can control fire, to an extent.” He paused to glance around the room. Bruce caught his eye, with a questioning look. “The truth is Steph, I think you’re psychic also.” Steph took a moment to be confused and shook her head.

“That’s ridiculous, Jason. How am I psychic? Better yet, what makes you think that anyway?” 

“Several reasons actually. First and foremost, the whole time you’ve been sitting here listening, you’ve been reacting to the emotional state of everyone. For example, at one point in Bruce’s story, you had tears rolling down your face. Second, on Tuesday night, you had a bad headache as you approached the study. During that time, I was arguing with Dick and Bruce. Third, Jarvis told us how you said that there felt as if no one was here. If you’re not psychic, how do you explain those?” Stephanie crossed her arms.

“For starters, everyone here is a good storyteller, so I got swept up in the story. Second, I sometimes get headaches when I don’t eat or drink enough. Especially since later that night, I still had the headache. Which is how I had that conversation with Jarvis, and I told him that it was all in my head. Do you have anything more to support you theory?” Jason smirked at her.

“Actually, I do. You kept giving us disbelieving looks when we lied to you. You said you felt happy for no apparent reason as we walked past the duck pond, at the same time I felt happy to be with you. When you told me about your daughter, you reacted as if you expected me to get very angry with you, even though you had no way of knowing that I might get mad at you. You looked ashamed of what you did this morning, when you saw me look away from you. And the most compelling of all; how you found your way down stairs at the same time Bruce had pulled the iron out of my left arm. The very same arm you kept rubbing the whole time you were down there with us.” Stephanie opened her mouth and closed it, and opened it again looking like a fish.

“Alright, I’ll concede your point on the lying thing; I’m pretty good at being able to tell if someone’s lying to me, because of my dad. I can’t help that I got happy as we walked past the duck pond; I like ducks. As for my daughter, I was more afraid of what you might think of me after I told you, you silly man. I did feel ashamed, because you needed the blood and you were turned away from it. You needed it, so I tried to make it up to you for being an idiot.” She was silent for a moment. 

“As for going down stairs, I’m not sure why I came to the study after I woke up to my left arm hurting. I just woke up, arm hurting, feeling sick to my stomach. Once I made it to the study, I saw the entrance door open and went from there.” Jason looked at her triumphantly. She reached out and lightly slapped his arm. “Alright then, Mr. I’m-a-know-it-all, If I really am a psychic, what’s my ability, and why is it just now starting to work?” Jason chuckled.

“I think you’re an empath. That explains why you respond to the emotions of those around you. You don’t just sympathize with people, you can sense their emotions. You can tell when someone’s sad, like Bruce was earlier, ashamed like I was this morning, angry like Tuesday night. You can sense when there are people around you, especially if they’re emotional. And to be honest, I think you’ve always had it; it just became more intense after meeting us.” Stephanie looked at him for a minute, before looking at Bruce.

“The phone call at work on Tuesday, you said you were speaking to someone who you had had a falling out with. I was coming back from lunch, when I felt as if my heart was breaking. I just wanted to cry, and you looked so sad when you hung-up. I didn’t think about it then, so I brushed it aside, as if nothing had happened.” She looked back at Jason after Bruce nodded. “Is that what you mean? I just thought I was too emotional.” Jason gaped.

“Tuesday, around lunchtime was when I called.” He tapered off. He cleared his throat. “See what I mean? I’m certain you’ve had this ability for a while now. It’s only now gotten more intense since you met us.” Stephanie snuggled close to Jason. She began rubbing the edge of the comforter.

“Huh, I guess I never really noticed it before. You’re right, now that I think about it.” She grew quiet before turning slightly to look at Jason. “Fine then, if I am an, empath? That explains why you’re acting so nervous about telling your part of the story. You don’t have to tell everything, just how you became a vampire. Please?” Jason hesitated.

“Alright, but like I said, I reserve the right to skip over certain parts, alright?” He looked around and saw everyone nodding. He sighed again. 

“Well, I was born September 14th, 1923. My birth mother, Shelia Haywood, gave me to my father for money and then left. My father, Willis Todd brought me home and gave me to my step-mother, Catherine Todd. My dad was a small time criminal, and he was almost never home. Catherine though, she had an addiction to cocaine, but she did everything she could to try and raise me right. She’s the one I truly acknowledge as my mom. Even though she wasn’t my birth mother, she never told me I wasn’t hers, and she showed me more love then Sheila and Willis combined. I still miss her to this day.”


	11. The Past Revealed (Jason's Part)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just warning everyone reading this chapter right now, this is very angsty and very mature. This chapter touches on a lot of things like underage smoking, underage sex, bisexual relations, drug use and addiction, vandalizing vehicles, arson, character rape, death of minors and lots of violence. If anyone reading this doesn’t like reading any of these things, please don’t read this chapter. I’m doing my best not to offend or piss off anyone, while trying to stay true to the characters of the comics. Some of these things were in the comics themselves (ex. the character Gloria, Jason’s smoking habits, etc..) I don’t want to lose any readers, but this chapter went in a much darker direction than I wanted it to, so please bear with me. I hope I don’t offend anyone, and I hope you all stick with me throughout this story.
> 
> A lot of what I know about Jason comes from Wikipedia and watching the ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’ animated movie. I became intrigued by the movie and started looking his story up. That’s essentially how I know what I know about Jason. (Well, that and ‘Red Hood and the Outlaws’ from the Nu-52, which I know a lot of people don’t like. I know it’s not everybody’s favorite, I like how the interactions between the ‘batfam’ are changed to be better, mostly. I just wish Steph and Cass’s roles were bigger.) I hope that when they come out with a third season of YJ, they’ll either mention how Jason died, or have him return as the Red Hood.
> 
> Either way, I’m basing his background on what I know from the comics. I do mention the ‘All-Caste’ if only because Ducra is awesome. (She doesn’t put up with any of Jason’s shit, that’s for sure.) Everything else will be from Pre-52. Also, I changed things up when it comes to the Joker, because he’s been written to be an immortal demonic spirit. (I apologize for the lack of time appropriate slang, I don’t know any, so Jason’s language is cruder as a kid.) After this part, Stephanie tells about her past and then we’ll get back to the actual story. Also, Jason curses a lot. 
> 
> (Miscellaneous notes: 1. I had planned to have the others tell Stephanie that she was going to become a vampire on ‘Friday’ in the story. However, Dick chimed in during a break and told her on ‘Thursday’. Dammit Dick. 2. Jason went through a lot as a kid, so his personality is a bit crass, sorry. And before you ask, Jason is still a little shitty towards Bruce, but it’s nowhere as bad as it was. So for anyone wondering why he’s acting like an asshole, well he’s worse in the comics. So in this story, since it’s been almost twenty years, the aggression has kind of tapered off from what it was.3. Final note, I realize some of Jason’s story will clash with history, this is an au, so please over look it.)
> 
> Lastly; I mention homosexuality more than once. That was a big thing in the 40’s and 50’s, so it does get mentioned once or twice in this story. Now, I personally have nothing against gay people (I have family members that are gay). In fact, I think everyone should have the right to love whomever they want to. I just barely mentioned it in Dick’s part, mostly as a nod to the scandal Batman caused in the fifties, but partly because I don’t see that type of relationship between them. (A few of my fav stories on ff.net and ao3 have that pairing though because the stories are very good.) I swear I’m not trying to rude or disrespectful, I don’t mean to offend anyone, so please don’t think I am. I promise I’ll keep the mentions short and few (especially if anyone doesn’t like that sort of thing.) 
> 
> Please don’t hate me.
> 
> As always, I would like to give a big, warm thank you to Blueangle97, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, SamTheKingOfHell, Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 22 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank xiaotianshi, mtsukai, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx, SamTheKingOfHell & TheJokerQueen13 for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. It makes me feel so happy, and I hope you can forgive my long update times. Please bear with me and thank you all so very much for sticking with me, I hope I don’t disappoint anyone.
> 
> (P.S. The reason I keep posting all of the awesome people above, is because it’s the only way I know of to show how much I absolutely appreciate all of you. All of you give me so much encouragement and I want everyone to know how much it means to me. Thank you all so very much. :D)
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 10: The Past Revealed (Jason’s Part)

“Well, I was born September 14th, 1923. My birth mother, Shelia Haywood, gave me to my father for money and then left. My father, Willis Todd brought me home and gave me to my step-mother, Catherine Todd. My dad was a small time criminal, and he was almost never home. Catherine though, she had an addiction to cocaine, but she did everything she could to try and raise me right. She’s the one I truly acknowledge as my mom. Even though she wasn’t my birth mother, she never told me I wasn’t hers, and she showed me more love then Sheila and Willis combined. I still miss her to this day.”

Jason rubbed the edge of the comforter once more and took a deep breathe.

(“That’s not to say she was a saint, she wasn’t. She made a lot of mistakes, but she cared and tried more than Willis. He never wanted a kid, he told me numerous times while he beat me. Well, he worked for Two-Face, who you’ve heard about earlier. Two-Face was getting old and was looking for a successor, so he hired my dad for a job. He must have done a good enough job, because he stayed away longer and longer. Eventually he was arrested and sent to prison. I was about seven or eight then, so it didn’t matter to me much.

“I was more concerned about ‘Mom’, she had taken cocaine for years, but when dad was sent to jail, she tried to wean herself off of it. She tried to get a job to pay for food for the two of us. Her jobs never lasted long and before I knew it, she was sick again. I didn’t know until after she died, it was because she was on cocaine again. All I knew then was that I needed to find some work. Fortunately, there were a few things I could do at such a young age. The down side was that any money I made was almost nonexistent. Still I tried as best as I could.

“Then, a year after he was arrested, we received word that he had been killed by a fellow inmate who he had cheated against while playing cards. Dad’s death sent mom into a tailspin, and I had to find more jobs. One day after I came home, I found mom on the floor, with a syringe lying next to her. I tried to shake her wake, but it was too late, she was already dead. I ran to a neighbor’s house and asked to use the phone. After I called the police, I waited until they showed up. I watched as they picked up mom’s body and for a while, things blurred around me. I was sent to a boy’s home, but after I couldn’t get along with anyone there, I ran away.

“I started stealing to get by, food, goods, whatever I needed at the time. I became friends with some homeless people who lived on the streets, and we lived together in a hovel. One of them, an old man who went by the name T.T., taught me how to smoke cigarettes. Whenever I could, I’d steal some for the two of us to enjoy. I lived there almost two years when I first saw the Batman. The great depression was going on at this point and while Gotham was affected, for the most part, it wasn’t much of a change. Either way, one night when I was bringing something back home, I saw the Batman. I saw him chase down someone, and I turned tail and ran.

“I didn’t want the Bat to notice me, I knew I was a thief and didn’t want to get caught. I noticed that some of the street-walkers were being harassed, so I attacked them. I learned pretty quick that I was pretty good at fighting, so I went outta my way to try and protect the ladies. It’s not their fault what they do makes them targets; they’re at least trying to get by. So I tried to protect ‘em. One day, to make some quick money, I thought it would be easy to steal some wheels. Not a car, mind you, actual wheels from the car. You should have seen how much of a fuss was made by the ‘Wheel Stealer’; which I thought was a dumb title.

“All I know was I did this for about three months. During this time, all of my ‘roommates’ had either been arrested, moved on or died. So it was easier for me to store the damn things until I could sell them. That night though, something told me to stay the hell away from this particular car. I didn’t listen because it was new and obviously expensive. I took three of the wheels off and rolled them ‘home’ and was on my way back for the last one. I never noticed the shadow following me. All I knew was after I got the fourth off, I felt someone grab my shoulder and whirl me around.”)

Jason looked at Bruce. Bruce was turned back towards the fireplace, but Jason knew he was trying to cover up a grin. He cleared his throat.

“Anything you’d like to add at this point, B?” Dick snickered. Bruce turned and glared at Dick. He sighed and turned to look at Steph and Jason. 

“Are you sure Jason? This is your story?” Jason glared back at Bruce.

“Why not Bruce? It’s not like you not to mention how you found me stealing. You’ve said before that you thought it was kind of funny. That you were surprised by my ‘skillset’.” Barbara and Dick were trying not to laugh aloud at Jason’s teasing. Bruce crossed his arms and glared at the couple again. They laughed harder. Bruce shook his head.

“Fine, I suppose I can mention how I found you attempting to steal the last of my tires.” Jason gave him a cocky grin. 

(“Every year on the anniversary of my parent’s death, I always return to the scene of the crime and leave flowers. That night, I was returning to the car, when I caught sight of someone darting towards the end of the alley. The figure had my full attention, which I didn’t realize until a month later. I followed at a slower pace and came upon a most unusual scene; someone had removed three of my tires and was in the process of removing the last one. I made my way over without making a sound. To my utter shock, it was a young boy. I reached out to grab him before he could finish. I grabbed his shoulder and a chill ran down my spine when I whirled him around.

“I knew once I looked into his eyes that he was an orphan, but as Jason will tell you, that wouldn’t make much difference until later. I cleared my throat and watched him. He looked up at me for a few seconds before he looked at his hands and hid his tire iron behind his back. It was too late by then, I had already seen what he had done, but I had to suppress a chuckle at his attempt to try to hide it.”)

Jason gaped at Bruce. 

“Really, Bruce? You were trying not to laugh at me? I thought I was being clever.” Steph shook her head. Bruce raised an eyebrow at his second son. He nodded his head.

“Oh yes Jason, it was very clever. I had seen what you were doing, so there was little reason to hide the evidence.” He grinned smugly at a sulking Jason. “It was so unexpected, what you did, it made me want to laugh. I didn’t though, mainly because if word got out that Batman smiled and laughed at someone, it might lead to problems later on.” Jason nodded his head in agreement and continued his narrative.

(“Anyway, after failing to appear innocent, I just threw caution to the wind and hit Batman with all of my might. I must have surprised him, because he let go of me and I ran as fast as I could. I ran and ran, not even thinking about Batman being able to find me. I didn’t stop until I made it back to my ‘home’. I thought that I had outrun him and decided to celebrate by lighting up my last smoke. Unfortunately, that’s when he showed up. He knocked on the door, and without thinking, I opened it. He took one look at me and I knew I was in trouble.

“He looked past me and saw the other wheels. At the time I wasn’t able to read his expression, but I knew what was coming then. He crossed his arms and said,

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” I just stood there gaping at him stupidly. I couldn’t deny anything, and he already knew where I lived. So I did the only thing I could think of; I sassed him.

“What about, ‘old man’? I ain’t got anything to say to you. So why not just leave me alone?” He looked at me, and I’m pretty sure he wanted to laugh. Instead, he just turned away and said.

“Very well, if you want to be uncooperative, I’ll just bring the police and have you arrested for stealing my wheels. I’m sure they’ll love to get their claws into you. Who knows, they might even go easy on you and not send you to the state penitentiary. Maybe, at least.” He started to walk away, and I panicked. That was where my dad was sent and he died while he was there. As well as the fact the police had been looking for me for a while, so I wasn’t looking forward to the police. So I confessed.

“Alright, alright old man, I did it. I stole your wheels. I only did it to make some money. A guy’s gotta survive somehow, see?” He turned to face me and nodded his head. He pointed his finger to the wheels and I sighed heavily. “Yeah, I understand ya. I’ll put ‘em back for ya.” 

“We took the wheels back together, me rolling one, him carrying two. Once we got back to the car, he handed me the tire iron I had dropped and stepped away to watch. I sighed again and set to work putting the wheels back on. Once I was finished, I looked at him, surprised to see him applauding me. I glared, thinking he was making fun of me.

“Well, what now, ‘Bats’? Ya still gonna take me to the police?” He shook his head and motioned to the car. I shook my head at him. “There’s no way in Hell, I’m getting in the car with you. Just let me go back home, and we can call it square, alright?” I’m not going to lie, I was pleading at this point.

“I promise I’m not taking you to the station, young man. But there is someplace I want to take you. I think it’ll do you some good, and hopefully help you stop stealing to survive. At the very least, it’ll provide you with a safe place to live.” I shook my head again and glared at him. He stood there looking at me, waiting on me to make a move first. I knew the ‘safe place’ he was referring to was an orphanage. My answer was still no.

“That’s when the rain started and almost immediately it began pouring down. I huffed at him, trying not to let him know how much the rain was bothering me. Lightning hit a few feet from us, and I realized no matter how much I didn’t want to be put in an orphanage, they did at least have nice beds and three square meals a day. Begrudgingly, I climbed in the car. Batman got in the driver’s seat and drove us down the road. I was a little surprised to see us pull up in front of a place called, ‘Ma Gunn’s Home for Boys’ as I had never heard of it. Before we got out, Batman looked me in the eye.

“This is only as a precaution, none the less, if anything happens, I want you to find me and let me know, is that clear?” I shrugged my shoulders at him and he grabbed my chin. “I want you to promise me, if at any point, you find yourself in a life-or-death situation, I want you to find me. I will do everything I can to help you, I promise.” I felt a cold chill run down my spine that had nothing to do with my wet clothes. I nodded my head, entirely serious. He nodded and led me to the front door. Ma Gunn answered and Batman explained what had happened.

“She agreed that she would look after me and that she’d make sure I’d stay out of trouble. Batman watched me for a few minutes before he left. Only, instead of being a home for boys, it was actually a recruitment area for young criminals. I couldn’t help but see the irony of the situation; Batman brings a thief to a boy’s home, only for the ‘boys home’ to be run by a criminal.”)

Jason looked at Bruce. 

“Did you compel me that night? Because a month later, when I saw the Batmobile, I couldn’t stop myself from following it.” Dick looked at Bruce, with a look of disappointment.

“He’s got a point Bruce. How else would he have found his way here that night?” Bruce shook his head.

“Like I said, once I saw Jason, I knew he was going to be a member of my family. I just thought he might be better off staying among humans. The night I left you at Ma Gunn’s, I wanted to compel you to come to me if you were ever in danger. However, since I hadn’t told you I was a vampire, and hadn’t told you about compulsion, I refrained from doing so. The only times I compel someone, are when I’m trying to pass myself off as my descendant, when I’m trying to get information out of criminals, or when myself or my family are in danger, or could be in danger. Thief or not, you were innocent, so I didn’t compel you. That’s how I was able to compel Stephanie, as I believed her to be connected to Falcone.” Jason heaved a sigh of relief.

“Alright, that makes me feel better. I had always wondered whether it was a compulsion or my high fever that lead me to you. It’s good to know the answer.” Bruce sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“I did a lot of things wrong when it came to ‘raising’ the two of you. You more so then Dick, but I promise I never did that.” Jason looked down at his lap, ashamed. Dick nodded his head once, before looking back to Jason. 

“I’m sorry Bruce. I guess even all these years later, I’m still blaming you for doing me wrong. “Jason glanced at Stephanie before adding, “I’ll try to do better about that. Just don’t expect it to happen all at once, ‘Old Man’.” Bruce shot Jason a look that shifted from surprise to gratitude. He nodded his head and Jason continued his story.

(“To be fair, Ma Gunn was really good at hiding her criminal background. It didn’t take long to reveal her plans to me and her other ‘boys’ made certain I did as I was told. It’s from her I learned to pick locks, pick pockets, set fires and so on. That last one ended badly for her. One of the ‘heists’ she had us pull, was at the ‘Gotham Municipal Bank’. I felt guilty about it, but I didn’t have much of a choice, since the oldest boys had taken to beating me and a few of the others when we didn’t follow orders. We stole the money and escaped, but one of the younger boys fell and hurt himself. I went back for him even though the others told me to leave him.

“I didn’t listen and half-carried, half-dragged him with me. When we were a safe distance away, the oldest shoved a gun in my face. He told me to leave him behind or get shot. The boy begged me not to leave him, so I told the oldest to pull the trigger. I knew better, none of the boys were loyal to anyone but Ma Gunn. Before he could pull the trigger, we heard sirens from the police. He shook his head and took off back to the home. We got there without being caught, but Ma wasn’t happy I had disobeyed orders.

“My punishment was pretty severe that night. She had me beat and then she threw me in the cellar. It was cold and wet in the cellar and I’m pretty sure that’s where I got sick. All I know was that I started coughing and after a while, the cold made it worse. Sometime later, one of the boys threw something down the steps next to me. It turned out to be the boy I had helped; they had killed him because he had gotten hurt, because he was useless to Ma Gunn and her boys. I saw what they were capable of and knew I needed to get away. I found a box of matches in the cellar and realized how I could escape.

“The next time one of them came to the door, they fetched my sorry ass and brought me to Ma’s. Something told me not to do it, but I sassed her and she hit me. I found a bottle of liquor she always had nearby. I grabbed it and darted away from her and threw it on her curtains and chair. She started screaming and a few of the boys tried to tackle me. They knocked me down, but not before I lit a match. They tried to stop what happened next, but one of the other boys, grabbed the matches and lit another one. He lit the curtains and there was a panic.

“In the panic, I managed to get away. I ran out the door and out into the downpour. I ran as fast and as far as I could and hid under the cover of an old tarp. I must have dozed off, since the next thing I knew, a pair of tomcats fighting woke me up. My throat was dry and my chest hurt. I tried to stand up only to fall down almost immediately. I tried again, slower this time and was able to stand up. I moved away, spending a long time just trying to get away. 

“It must have been the next morning, since the paperboys were trying to sell their papers. I don’t remember much other than walking around. The next thing I was aware of was the rain coming down even harder and I was shivering something fierce. Just as I was looking for a place to squat for the night, I saw the taillights of the batmobile. It took a few minutes, but I remembered the promise I had made Batman, and I started running in the direction I saw his car traveling. I don’t know how long I chased it, only I fell a lot of times. I wanted to lay down and rest a while, but something told me not to stop. I saw the taillights head down a road that was headed away from the city.

“The road kept going and going and I was about to give up, until I saw a large gate. It must have been the fever, because I had this idea to climb the gate. All I remember clearly was, the instant I started climbing, the damn gate swung open. I was still on it and almost fell off. I got down and started up the path, when I heard someone yell out to me. I looked up and saw Bruce and Dick running towards me. And the last thing I remember clearly was telling them I needed to find Batman. Then I blacked out.”)

“Jason scared Bruce and me when he came running up the path. Bruce said that he sensed someone outside, but wasn’t sure where they were. You see Steph, the area from the gate and fence is protected from enemies; so no one can get in unless they’re invited. The fact Jason got in threw all of us, as no one, outside of our clan and the Pennyworth family, can even see the front gate. If they can, it means that eventually they’ll become a member of our clan. Not immediately, I promise. That’s why we’re telling you the truth about us.“ Dick hastened to tell a surprised Stephanie.

“Hold on a minute, you mean to tell me, that I’m going to become a vampire? Like everyone here?” Stephanie chuckled nervously. “All because I saw the front gate? That’s ridiculous.” Stephanie shook her head. Dick and Babs exchanged a glance. Jason cleared his throat.

“It would be your choice, Stephanie.” Stephanie gasped and looked down at her lap. Jason reached his arm around her shoulder. “The choice belongs to you and no one else. Bruce didn’t compel me that night, but years later, he changed me without my permission. True, it was to save my life, and he didn’t want to see me die. That’s the only time he went truly wrong in the whole time I’ve known him. I promise if you say no, we won’t force you.”

Stephanie looked up at Jason’s declaration. She looked him in the eyes, and then moved her gaze to the others in the room. After she looked everyone in the eye, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“You mean that. You really mean that. I don’t know how I know that, maybe it’s because I am a psychic, but I can tell all of you are sincere.” She swallowed once more and opened her eyes to look at Jason. He removed his arm and lifted her hand to his mouth.

“I promise you, Stephanie Nicole Brown, if the time comes that we would be in a position to turn you, it would only be with your permission.” He gently kissed her knuckles, and smiled at her. She shyly grinned back at him.

“Well, here’s hoping it doesn’t come to it. But I thank you for being so considerate.” She looked at Bruce. “You turned Jason without his consent?” Bruce sighed heavily.

“As Jason will mention shortly, there was a confrontation. And Jason was moments from death. I was afraid he would die, and I couldn’t let that happen, so I gave him my blood. Tabitha told me later, that there was a ritual that must be followed for the conversion to be complete. And I acted too soon. I take full responsibility for my actions, however, it should be said, that if Jason truly didn’t want to live, he would have become a ghoul almost immediately. And a ghoul is actually a fourth type of vampire. We’ve mentioned the primary three types, but a ghoul is lesser known.

“They are the type of vampire you have probably heard of most. They are people who have died and are unable to find peace. Their souls linger and attempt to return to their bodies, drawing evil to them or magic users cast spells on the dead bodies in order to gain slaves. They emerge from their graves and can only exist by eating the flesh of the dead. Sometimes they attack living people, and sometimes they can get by with drinking their ‘masters’ blood. Either way, they don’t have much of a life or a consciousness, so it’s best to put them out of their misery and burn the bodies. That way, their bodies can’t be used again. The fact Jason began the conversion process, told me that deep down, he did want to live.”

Jason huffed and shook his head. Dick chuckled under his breath. Jason shot him a glare before turning back to Bruce.

“Alright, fine I admit it. I didn’t want to die. Not really anyway, it’s just that there was so much pain. I just wanted it to end.“ He sighed. “It wasn’t your fault, at least not entirely. But, that comes later. For now, let’s get back to the story.”

(“I remember little bits and pieces of what happened next. Someone helping me drink water, a comforting hand on my arm. Someone wiping a cool washcloth across my face. Someone smearing something smelly across my chest, which in turn caused me to cough, a lot. My next clear memory was waking up in a nice warm bed, which I didn’t recognize. I slowly sat up and looked around. I made to get up when the door opened and an unusual man walked in. He saw me sitting up and he became excited.

“I say, it’s good to see you awake, young sir. Master Bruce will be delighted to hear of your awakening. Is there anything I can fetch you to eat?” I stared at him for a few minutes, before I was able to answer him. I shook my head and meant to ask him where I was. My stomach growled loudly, ruining that plan. “Good gracious sir, I apologize for not thinking to bring you something when I came. Would you like me to bring you some soup or a sandwich?”

“I sat there staring at him for a good long while, before I asked him in confusion,

“’Soup or a sandwich’? “ He cleared his throat.

“Of course young sir. You’ve been ill for almost three weeks. As it is, we’ve only barely gotten you to eat, so I don’t want to give you something too heavy, or it might make you sick.” I thought about it for a minute, and realized he was right. I didn’t feel like throwing up, so I nodded my head at the man.

“Well, when you say it that way, you’re right. I guess soup will be good.” I paused when my stomach growled again. “Maybe some bread too?” The man smiled and nodded his head.

“Excellent choice, sir. I shall be back momentarily with your lunch. Please wait right here.” And then he was gone. I got out of bed and after finding my footing, started to explore the room. The curtains hadn’t been drawn, but I could still see that the sun was out. I noticed a nightstand next to the bed, with an old ornate clock sitting on it. There was a massive bureau, a wardrobe, which I had never seen before, and a vanity.

“I couldn’t figure out how I had ended up in this room. As I walked around the bed, I noticed the nightstand had a pitcher and basin on it as well. I went to look at them, when the man from earlier returned. He saw I was out of bed and ‘tutted’ at me.

“Now young master, please return to the bed this instance. You’re no longer convalescing, however that doesn’t mean you can start gallivanting about.” He placed the tray down on the vanity and turned and looked at me. I stared in confusion.

“’Con-va’-what now?” He kept watching me, so I decided to return to the bed. I sit down on the bed and watched him. He picked up the tray and placed it on my lap.

“’Convalescing’, it means recuperating or healing. In other words, you should take your time and regain your strength before you wander about.” I looked at the soup and I swear to you the sight made my mouth water. I looked up at the man.

“Thank you.” He nodded his head and motioned for me to start eating.

“Do try not to eat too fast, sir.” I nodded and dug in. Anything Jarvis makes is delicious, make no mistake about it. I know that was the best meal I ever ate. My lack of manners had him shaking his head repeatedly. When I was finished, he picked up the tray and moved it to the side. “Now then, would you like for me to draw you a bath, sir?”

I just kept looking at him like I didn’t know what he was talking about. Before I could answer him, I remembered I didn’t know who he was.

“Before I answer that, can you tell me where I am? The last thing I remember was chasing after Batman. I needed to tell him something important, like he made me promise to do.” The man flinched ever so slightly.

“Of course, you’re absolutely right, sir. You’ve been unconscious for three weeks and I had forgotten you might not remember where you were due to your fever.” I gasped at his words, shocked I didn’t remember being sick. “Yes sir, it has been three weeks since you collapsed in front of the manor.” He squared his shoulders. “For starters, my name is Jarvis Pennyworth, butler to Master Bruce.

“You are in the household of Master Bruce Wayne. This room is in the south wing of the ‘Stately’ Wayne Manor. You had a rather severe case of pneumonia when you climbed the front gate. We’ve spent the last three weeks trying to nurse you back to health, and at numerous times these last few weeks, you’ve asked who we were and where you were. As for finding Batman, well let’s say that Master Bruce wants to speak with you about that.” He paused once more. “If you would like, I can tell Master Bruce that you are awake, so that you can talk to him now.” I shook my head.

“I ran my hand through my hair and noticed it felt dirty. I also noticed there were a few bandages on my arms and realized I wasn’t wearing my clothes. I glared at the man.

“Were you the one who changed my clothes?” He nodded his head. I fidgeted where I sat, nervous and ashamed both at once. “Did you,” I swallowed loudly. “Did you, gi-give me a b-bath?” He looked surprised but nodded his head. “Shit!”

“Now, now, young master, there’s no need for that type of language here. There wasn’t a problem, I assure you of that. After all, nurses are trained to do as much.” He looked at me for a minute. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about, things like this happen all of the time.” I shook my head.

“That ain’t what I meant.” His expression shifted to curiosity. I shook my head again. “It’s too late to matter now.” He made to say something else, but I cut him off. “Look, if you meant what you said earlier, about the bath, will you run a bath for me? I need it something bad.” 

“Of course young master. Will you need anything else, aside from clean clothes?” 

“Just let me wash myself, alright?” He picked up the tray and headed for the door.

“Of course, sir. I shall return shortly.” I watched him go and unclenched my hands. I saw them shake slightly, so I stood up and began to pace around the bed. Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

“I’ve drawn the bath and I lain out some clean clothes for you sir.” I opened the door and he motioned for me to follow him. I followed him in silence, mainly because I was worried he would ask about my outburst. He opened the door to a massive bathroom and held it open for me. “Here you go sir, everything you will need. Leave your dirty clothes on the counter, and I’ll retrieve them later. I’ll return in half an hour to check on you. I’ll knock first.”

“Thanks, but there’s no need to check on me. It might take longer than half an hour.” I walked in and turned to him. “And it’s not ‘Sir’, its Jason. Jason Todd.”

“Very well, Master Jason. I’ll return in half an hour and if you need longer, I’ll leave.” And with that he shut the door. I looked at the tub and started taking off my clothes. It definitely took longer than half an hour and the water was cold by the end, but I was clean and dressed. That’s all I was worried about. When Jarvis returned, he led me to the study.

“Master Bruce, Master Dick, Master Jason is here to speak with you.” Jarvis announced as he opened the doors. Bruce looked at me with relief written all over his face. Dick smiled at me to put me at ease, but something about the two of them set my teeth on edge. I glanced at Jarvis as he shut the doors.

“Don’t call me ‘master’, I ain’t nobody’s master, see?” Jarvis nodded at me and shut the doors. I heard someone chuckle and saw Dick turned away from me. Bruce raised an eyebrow at me and motioned towards the chairs. I shook my head and remained standing. Dick took a sip of his tea and I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Are the two of you Fags?”)

“Oww. Steph, did you just punch me in the arm?” Jason exclaimed as he rubbed him upper arm. Stephanie had backed up a short distance and was glaring at him.

“Did you seriously ask them if they were gay? That’s rude Jason. Incredibly rude, as well as none of your business. How could you ask something like that?” She crossed her arms. Jason raised his hands in front of him.

“Alright, I’ll admit, it wasn’t the best thing I could have asked them. Although in my defense, you cut me off before I could explain why I had asked that question.” Stephanie sighed. She stopped glaring at Jason.

“Very well, I’m sorry I jumped the gun. It just bothers me when people judge people like that. It shouldn’t matter whether a person is ‘straight’ or ‘gay’. Everyone deserves a chance at love and happiness. That’s how I see it.” Jason grinned.

“That’s how I feel too. But there was a reason I asked them if they were gay.” Stephanie looked sheepish and nodded her head.

(“So I asked them,  
“Are you two fags?” Dick nearly choked on his tea and Bruce looked at me in disbelief. ”What? A guy can ask, can’t he?” Bruce sighed and shook his head. Once Dick stopped choking, he laughed. 

“Oh kid, did you really just ask us that? That’s one of the funniest things I heard in a while.” I glanced at him and shrugged my shoulders.

“Gee, I don’t know why I asked. Oh wait, maybe it’s because there’s three guys living here. Three guys who’ve been looking after me while I was out of it.” Dick calmed down. I shrugged again. “Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time a guy’s been interested in me. Let alone, a grown-up.” Bruce looked at me in shock.

“Jason, correct?” I nodded. “Jason, you don’t mean that in the way I think you do, right?” Dick gasped. I flinched but kept on staring. 

“How do you think I mean it? Do you mean if a guy’s asked me if I wanted to screw? Then yeah, that’s how I meant it.”)

Jason paused to look at his audience. Babs looked shocked and Stephanie looked dismayed.

“To be fair, before mom died, there were a few men who asked me if I would let them do it. I said no, but mom agreed, if only to get money and cocaine. After she died, there was once or twice I slept with someone to make some money. Hell, once I did it for a few smokes. That’s all in the past though, so there’s nothing to be done about it.” He looked down at his hands. Stephanie hugged him.

“So the reason you panicked with Jarvis, was because you thought they had,” She trailed off as she felt Jason sigh in relief. He reached up and squeezed her arm.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I know that it was wrong of me to have thought that, I just couldn’t stop myself.” Dick stood up to stretch and patted Jason’s shoulder. Jason cleared his throat.

(“Bruce and Dick were horrified about what I had just told them. Even more so when I admitted what I just told you. Bruce reassured me that while I was here, no one would touch me in such a way again.

“That’s swell and all, but I need to go. I was looking for Batman that night and stumbled on this place by accident.” I looked down at my feet as I scuffed my toes against the carpet. “I, uh, I’m grateful for you all taking care of me. I know you probably have more important things to do, so I won’t bother you anymore.” I nodded my head towards Bruce. Before I could say anything more, the door opened and Babs came in.

“Oh good, Jarvis said you were awake. My name is Barbara Grayson.” She stopped in front of me. Bruce cleared his throat.

“Babs, I was just getting ready to tell Jason here about how I know Batman.” I whirled around at him.

“Are you blowing smoking up my ass, old man?” Bruce glared at me and crossed his arms.

“No I’m not Jason. Now, I’m going to tell you something very important. So I would appreciate it if you didn’t curse or use vulgar language. I’d also like for you to keep what I have to say a secret, alright?” I stared at him in defiance. I heard Dick get up and walk over to Babs. I saw him reach out to her and kiss her. That’s when I saw her wedding band.

“Alright, I’ll try not to curse. That’s gonna be tough though, I’ve grown up around it.” I shrugged again. “I’ll try not to be ‘vulgar’, but I’m not making any promises. And I’m sorry I asked if you two were gay. It doesn’t really matter to me, I just wanted to know if it might affect me.” Bruce nodded his head and headed to the clock.

“After he led all of us down to the cave, he told me he was Batman. I didn’t believe him.

“Are you shitting me?” Bruce glared at me before he launched into his tale. About when he was born, his parents dying, traveling Africa, becoming a vampire and all of that. I didn’t believe him, until I saw his eyes change color. Then I saw his fangs and I almost peed my pants. After that, he told me what had happened after the fire three weeks prior. No one had died that night, but a few of the boys and Ma Gunn had been burned pretty bad and were taken to the hospital. I told him about the boy in the cellar and he told me he had found the body.

“Dick chimed in and told me about how Ma Gunn had been arrested along with most of the boys. The only ones who hadn’t been arrested for the involvement were too young to be arrested, and so they were sent to another boy’s home. A legitimate one this time. Dick paused and looked me in the eye.

“So Jason, Bruce has told you about his curse, about how we became vampires. What do you think about all of this?” I shot him a glance.

“I can’t tell you what I really think about this, cuz Bruce might get mad. Aside from that, I’m not sure. I mean, it sounds too good to be true. If he hadn’t showed me his fangs, I’d be looking for a head doctor.” Babs laughed loudly. Dick smirked.

“That sounds fair, but I meant, since you’re now a part of this family, how would you like to join us?” My disbelief must have shown on my face, because Bruce added.

“What he means is, would you like to join us when we fight criminals? I’m not telling you that you have to, but if you want to, we can train you to be a vigilante like us.” I thought about it for a minute and Babs chimed in.

“It’s entirely up to you Jason, but you have a better understanding of the streets then we do. If you want to help us, we’ll do everything we can to help bring the criminals to justice. That way, we won’t be punishing the innocent. The decision is all yours.” I looked at Bruce.

“You won’t get rid of me if I say no, will you?” Bruce shook his head.

“No Jason, I wouldn’t do that. I had hoped you would be able to have a better life if I left you at Ma Gunn’s, but I was wrong. I promise, you won’t be kicked out if you decide not to fight. I honestly hope you don’t, it’s a dangerous lifestyle. And you’re free to leave whenever you want to. The choice is yours.” I closed my eyes and considered it. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

“Then I want to do it. I want to help send those lowlifes to prison, where they’ll pay for their crimes.” After that, I spent at least six months training in all types of combat, armed and unarmed. Everything I needed to know about processing a crime scene. They helped my learn at least ten different languages, and just about anything else you can think of. During that time, I had the first real birthday I’d had ever. Yeah, I’m still mad at Bruce about numerous things, but there were a lot of good memories.

“When they deemed me ready, Dick gave me his old costume and his old name. I told him I thought ‘Robin’ was a kiddie name, but he just ruffled my hair and laughed. Nightwing and Batgirl returned to Bludhaven and I took to the streets with Batman. Those were some of the best days of my life. Hell, after it was established that I was ‘Allan Wayne’s ‘ ward, I even started making friends. Once or twice those friends were female, and, well you can guess where I’m going with that. Dick gave me no shortage of ‘helpful’ advice. I returned the favor by heckling him and Babs when I caught them going at it.

“Things were good, so good, I really should have known better. Not long after January of 41, Tabitha made her usual trip and warned me not to lose my head when it came to a case coming up. I told her I’d try not to, but she didn’t give any details. The case in question was the rape of a young woman named Gloria. Gloria claimed she had been raped by a man named Felipe Garzones, the son of a diplomat. He had raped her and told her he wouldn’t be arrested due to his father. As you saw earlier, I don’t react well when it comes to rape, so the fact that jackass bragged about getting away, pissed me off. Bruce was able to gather evidence that got him arrested temporarily, but while he was there, he called Gloria and taunted her, telling her he would be back for her.

“We heard him and we rushed over to her apartment. Only, by the time we got there, she had hung herself. She was so scared of him, she had killed herself. Before Batman could stop me, I had swung over to Felipe’s penthouse. He was surprised by me appearance, but he only laughed when he heard about Gloria. I got so angry, I chased him to his balcony. I didn’t realized what had happened until it was too late. I saw him fall backwards and before I got to him, he had fallen 22 stories.

“That was when Batman arrived. He asked what happened and I told him,

“I guess I spooked him.” I felt bad about not feeling bad about his death, so I didn’t tell Batman about chasing him. But I didn’t kill him.”)

“I know you didn’t Jason.” Bruce replied, cutting into Jason’s story. Jason turned to look at Bruce, shock written on his face.

“What? You knew, and you still benched me?” Bruce nodded and stood up from his seat.

“Jason, I have psychometry. Did you honestly think I didn’t know what really happened?” Jason clenched his fists and heaved a sigh.

“I, guess I forgot about it back then. I was so mad at you pulling me off any cases, I didn’t think about why.” Bruce nodded again.

“I knew you didn’t kill him, but you didn’t tell me the truth about what had led you to the balcony. Besides, you had just watched someone fall to their death. Not to mention Felipe’s father putting bounties on both of our heads. I thought you could use some time off to sort things out. I wish now, that I had told you why I had done it. That was my biggest mistake, at the time. Things only got worse after that.”

Jason nodded his head and unclenched his fists. He turned to Stephanie.

“If you need to go to the bathroom, now would be the time to do it. When I start back, it’s going to be a long stretch.” Stephanie agreed.

“If you say it like that, I’d probably better.” She pulled back the comforter and stood up. She turned and kissed Jason on the forehead and left the room. Dick leaned over the table with a smug grin.

“How sweet.” His face became serious. “Jay, if you want the three of us to leave, we’ll go. You know you don’t have to tell us anything about what happened after Ra’s got you. Believe it or not, we do respect your privacy.” Jason glared at his brother and sighed. His expression shifted to gratitude.

“Thank you, all of you. Contrary to popular belief, I do know you respect my privacy.” He looked at Babs and then Bruce. “I’m sorry about causing you three so much trouble. Jarvis as well. I’m still not ready to come back ‘into the fold’ permanently, there’s just too many conflicting feelings. But, none of you have given up on me yet. It’s gonna take some more time, so please wait for me, alright?”

Babs wiped what looked like a drop of blood away from her eye. She smiled widely at Jason.

“So does that mean you want us to stay?” Jason chuckled and nodded once. Stephanie returned and made a beeline for Jason. She curled up next to Jason and pulled the blanket over herself. Before Jason continued his story, Stephanie pulled the comforter over Jason’s lap as well. He looked at her curiously, then restarted the story. 

(“So Bruce decided to pull me off any cases for a while. I was furious, especially since he didn’t tell me why he had done so. After Felipe’s death, his father demanded the police turn over Batman and myself. When that didn’t work, he hired thugs to either bring us to him alive or kill us. At one point, he even placed bounties out for us. Bruce was almost killed by a few of them and only escaped because I disobeyed orders and followed him. Instead of letting me back out on the field, Bruce blocked me from entering the cave.

“I was still furious, but I decided to listen to him and go with his punishment. I thought that if I showed him that I wasn’t going to fight him on this, that he would let me return to the cave. It worked, and shortly after, I was allowed back in the cave, on the radio only. One day, I found a file marked, ‘Haywood, Sheila’. I didn’t know then who she was, so I started reading it. By the time Bruce returned, I was beyond pissed. We must have yelled for over an hour. All I knew was Bruce had discovered that Catherine wasn’t my real mother, but Sheila Haywood was.

“I couldn’t believe Bruce had hidden it, and for so long. It turns out, not long after he had taken me in, he had visited my childhood home. While he was there, he had found the comforter Catherine had made me when I was younger. And he also found a letter from Sheila to my father. The letter demanded the amount of 200 dollars in exchange for me, or else she was going to leave me on the streets. Bruce discovered this letter in a box, along with a thank you note to Catherine from Sheila. So apparently, Catherine had wanted me more than my own mother. The box itself, was the one she delivered me in. Bruce had taken the box and its contents and the comforter and brought them home.

“He had then hidden the truth for almost six years. He had kept the letter and had been searching all that time for Sheila. He had found her living in Ethiopia less than a week prior. He swore he was going to tell me once he had made contact with her, but I wouldn’t believe him. I told him, if he really meant that, to help me find her in Ethiopia. Keep in mind, this was during WW 2, so traveling there wasn’t the best of ideas. As it was, they were in the middle of the ‘East African Campaign’. Bruce agreed, on the condition, that we only travel at night, when his powers were at their strongest.

“We only traveled at night, and eventually tracked her down a city called Mek’ele. We discovered that she had been born in Europe and when the war broke out, she returned and enlisted as a nurse. She had been stationed further in then there, but she traveled to Mek’ele to help the wounded. Before we could catch up, there was in incident that required Batman’s attention. He told me to stay put, but I didn’t. I had spent this long looking for my birth mother, there was no way in hell I was staying put. The incident ended up being nothing more than a distraction to lure Batman away. The Joker was the real reason behind it.

“I still don’t know how he found us, but he did what he does best. Anyway, I made it to Sheila’s door and knocked. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous. I hoped she would want me, that she would apologize for abandoning me. When she answered the door, I was surprised to see how much I looked like her. She was surprised as well, especially when I introduced myself. That’s when the Joker showed up in person and threatened her with blackmail. He left and I admitted I was Robin.

“She didn’t believe me until I showed her my costume. Then she smiled at me and hugged me, apologizing for not being there when I was growing up. She then begged me for my help. The Joker had connections to the Italian soldiers and was using said connections to get weapons to and from Gotham, where he was planning a coup d’état to overthrow Gotham’s biggest crime bosses. I agreed without thinking about how she was involved. She led me to a seemingly abandoned warehouse, which she said was where the weapons were hidden. That’s when the Joker and his thugs jumped us. Harley showed up and hugged Sheila, revealing the two were friends.

“Sheila pulled out a cigarette and started smoking. Then the beating started. At first, I was able to hold my own, taking down several of his goons. Harley then grabbed Sheila and threatened her with a knife to the throat to get me to surrender. I surrendered and Joker started laughing. That’s when he told me that ‘mom’ had been working with the Italian soldiers, to keep the Italian government from imprisoning her brother. Who had had affairs with several wives of higher ranking military officials. She in turn, had been the one to perform the abortions that had resulted from said affairs.

“Then the Joker pulled out the crowbar and everything went to shit after that. He waited until I was restrained and he started in, each hit, precise and strong. This went on for what seemed like hours. In the meantime, Sheila looked away and had finally started yelling for him to stop. Harley punched her and tied her up. I only vaguely remember losing sight in one of my eyes and not being able to move my jaw to well. Not to mention the fact I could hear my ribs moving in ways they weren’t supposed to. Then Joker and Harley told everyone to leave, but not before telling us about the bomb.

“I saw the bomb hidden in the corner, and I heard Sheila whimper. As the timer counted down, my only thought was getting to her. Then, just as the bomb blew up, I thought to myself, ‘I hope Bruce’ll forgive me.’ It wasn’t until the explosion and the fire spread, that I found out that I was able to control fire. And honestly, it was a hell of a time to find out. As it was, my injuries from being beaten half to death were painful enough. As the fire hit me, I felt almost a power surge hit me. It was as if all of the pain went away, leaving only energy.

“It didn’t do anything to heal my wounds, but at least it didn’t kill me. Sheila on the other hand, was blown apart from me and died later due to the burns she received. I don’t recall how long I lay there, or much of anything, until Bruce pulled a piece of debris off of my back. I only vaguely remember hearing him call my name. I remember him gently rolling me over and lifting my head up. I opened my ‘good’ eye and tried to smirk at him.

“What took so long, ‘Old Man’?” It hurt like a bitch to try and breathe, so I only took short shallow breaths. I heard Bruce hesitate.

“I’m sorry, Jason. I’m sorrier then you’ll ever know.” He shifted me again and I cried out. “Jason, I can help you with your pain. All you have to do is say yes. Please Jason, let me help you.” I tried to shake my head.

“No. Sorry Bruce, but I can’t. Let me die.” I cracked open my other eye and looked at him. “It hurts too much. Just let me be. Please.” Bruce grit his teeth and turned away from me.

“I thought that was the end of it, and I closed my eyes, intent to breath my last. Before I could though, I tasted blood. A terrible, nasty, horrible taste that I knew could only belong to one person. I tried to turn my head, but Bruce held me in place. I opened my eyes to see he had pulled the cowl back and was watching me with tears streaming down his face.

“I hope you can forgive me for this Jason. Not today or in the next few days, but hopefully someday. I’m sorry Jason, but I can’t let you die, not like this.” He held me in place as I unintentionally drank his blood. I knew I was in trouble when I felt the pain. Let me make it clear that the descriptions everyone else gave are 100 percent accurate and still not great enough. And unfortunately, Bruce didn’t have any of the things Tabitha had. There was no way for Bruce to get them.

“So I had the unfortunate ‘pleasure’ of experiencing numerous seizures. The reason for the chains is to prevent you from thrashing about and hurting yourself even further. And the strip of wood was to prevent you from biting your tongue, as well as to keep your fangs from biting the inside of your cheeks and your lips. Once the initial ‘transformation’ is complete, the body shuts down so the magic can finish the transforming. That’s why the coffin is needed; the magic gets contained in the coffin and it helps protect the body. Bruce didn’t have time to get a coffin for me, so he had to bury me in a shallow grave. He left me there, so that he could get a coffin. What we didn’t know was that a secret organization called ‘The League of Shadows’, a hidden group of assassins, had been following Batman.

“The leader had been watching Batman for a while, and had discovered his civilian identity was ‘Allan’ Wayne. He had seen ‘Allan’s’ skills, and wanted him to become his heir. In order to do so, he thought he could dig up his ’dead’ sidekick and place him in a pool of water with magical properties, called a ‘Lazarus Pit’. As the name implies, if a dead person is placed in it, they are resurrected. The only problem with it is that, whoever used it became insane. For the most part, it wears off within a few months. He didn’t know that ‘Allan’ was a vampire, and that led to problems. So while he was gone, they dug my body out of the ground.

“I was unaware of any of this; I only became aware after being thrown in the pit. The only thing I really remember was the green glow that came from the pit. And the pain; let’s put it this way, it was like all of the pain you heard about from the others and all of the pain I felt when Bruce gave me his blood. All of that mixed together, and multiplied, along with a side of crazy. I remember the pain and swimming to the surface of the pit. Then, once I broke the surface, I realized there were a lot of people, and I was hungry. I only vaguely remember lunging at the nearest person, and hearing her scream. The next thing I remember was that I needed to get away.

“I recall jumping from a high distance and tumbling down the mountain. I hit the ground and I had a vague sense of needing to get away. I must have run for a long time, before I felt the sun come up. I hid the best I could, since the sun was very hard to be out in. So I hid during the day and traveled during the night. This continued for so long, I lost weeks traveling. It was a long time before I came back to myself some months later. The next I remember clearly, was hearing about Batman having attacked an ambassador. 

“It didn’t take long to discover the reason why he had done so. After killing his current body, Joker had possessed the body of the ambassador. Batman had attacked him but was unable to apprehend him. Batman had escaped and fled the country, and the only thing that hit me was that Bruce had abandoned me, that he had left me behind. That’s where the insanity kicked in. And it would take a long time for it to go away. So, I wanted revenge for being ‘abandoned’ by Bruce. My first thought was to find someone to teach me how to kill, and once I did, I spent the longest time learning everything I could, then killing him to prevent him from telling anyone about me.

“Then I had to find a way out of the country and back into the states. After I returned, I made my way to Gotham, formulating a plan to kill Bruce. Along the way, I heard about Nightwing having returned and my anger grew. I took my time arriving and setting my plan into motion. It took a lot of covert maneuvering, but in the end it caused Batman and Nightwing to face me. In the meantime, I realized I needed a new name. It took some searching, but I eventually discovered that one of Joker’s victims was a small-time thief who called himself ‘The Red Hood’, and the name stuck. After that, I confronted the two of them.

“Bruce and Dick didn’t want to accept that it was me, but didn’t have any choice when I took off my helmet. Ra’s had apparently told Bruce what had happened and had barely escaped with his life. Our confrontation was a knock-down, drag-out fight, which only ended when I had beaten them almost to their ‘second death’. For what it’s worth, they did a number on me as well. Tabitha showed up and used her magic to knock my ass out. She saved all of our lives that night, and I owe her greatly. She took me back to her village in Africa and spent a good long time trying to ‘fix’ me. It took a while, but she eventually got rid of my lingering insanity, calling it a ‘taint on an already warped curse’.

“Then she used a lengthy spell to right my killing urges. In her own words, the curse was cast to prevent any of us from killing someone intentionally. Having been placed in the pit, the curse was only half working. I wasn’t killing anyone with my blood drinking, but I was still using my great strength and my training to kill people. So she cast another spell on me to prevent me from intentionally killing someone at all. So, I just try to shoot someone where it’ll hurt really badly. After that, she and her people started training me, like they had done for Bruce. WW2 was still going on and we had to be very careful.

“I quickly grew restless and one day I snapped at one of the villagers. Tabitha told me to get ready, as we were going to visit an old friend of hers. I didn’t want to go, but I went anyway. She led me to a place called the ‘All-Caste’, a hidden location, where a group of warrior-monks lived. She believed they would help me control my temper and teach me their ways. Well, first impressions aside, it went well.

“You should bow before your elders, pup.” The withered looking old lady told me. As I really didn’t want to put up with her attitude, I disagreed.

“About that, I only bow to people I respect.” And then I ‘patted’ her on the head. “And that doesn’t include you, granny.” I’m still not sure what happened next, only waking up on the ground, some distance away from her. She and Tabitha were talking amongst themselves.

“Why did you bring a vampire here, Tabitha? And I smell the pit on him, faded though it may be.” Tabitha nodded.

“He has a lot of anger, both for the circumstances behind his turning and due to the pit. I can only teach him so much. His sire, turned him against his wishes, and before the ritual could be completed, he was dug up and placed in the pit. He spent two years hunting down and trying to hurt his sire. I was able to remove some of Ra’s’ influence, but he is still bent on revenge. I was hoping you might be able to train him, besides you and your people are more than capable of providing for him. Please Ducra, as a favor for me?” The lady, Ducra, sighed and shook her head.

“That boy, is nothing more than a walking time bomb. He is a danger to everyone near him and he will be the death of all of us.” Tabitha pivoted on her feet and looked in my direction. I saw her smirk at me.  
“So am I to understand that you won’t train him?” Ducra glared at Tabitha and then at me.

“Of course I will train him. If I don’t, he’ll destroy us all. He’s too dangerous to be left to do as he sees fit.” My only thought at the time was, ‘Smart lady.’ Tabitha stayed long enough to see me get in this pool of water in an area called the ‘Acres of All’. Once I was in there, the members of the All-Caste chanted something and a mark appeared on my chest. Ducra seemed surprised. When she helped me out, she told me.

“Well, you’re the first human in a thousand years to survive the cleansing. I can’t tell if it’s because you’re worthy or too damned stubborn.” I chuckled as the mark faded.

“Can’t I be, both?” She shook her head and pointed me towards the others. As I was hauled away, I heard Tabitha reply,

“I told you so.”

“Oh shut up Tabitha. I’ll do this, but afterwards, you owe me. Understand?”

“Of course Ducra, I understand.” I turned in time to see her walk away. Before she left, she waved at me.

“Goodbye, Mr. Todd. I’ll see you soon.” Then she left. Soon after, I started training with the All-Caste. The first week there, Ducra and the others discovered my pyrokinesis. I was shocked, until I remembered the explosion in Mek’ele and how I had used it to protect me from the fire. We spent weeks working on my pyrokinesis, as well as training in all manner of weapons. Including weapons Bruce had never heard of. 

“Ducra explained the mark on my chest was mystical and it would protect me from magic. I trained with them over a year, during which Tabitha visited twice. I was learning many things, I just couldn’t let go of my anger. One day I went to Ducra, who had become like a grandmother to me, and told her I planned to leave. She didn’t seem surprised, as she had seen that I was getting antsy. She tried to talk me into staying, saying I still needed to work on my anger, but in the end, she let me walk away. After I left, I had to carefully find a way into the states. Then I worked my way back into Gotham.

“After that, I had to regain my lost territory. That was easy, working a truce between myself and Batman was trickier. Especially after I broke in here and took my stuff. But, after a few run-ins with him and Nightwing, we established a truce. I wouldn’t go looking for a fight and I’d leave his crooks alone, and they’d stay out of my territory and not interfere with my dealings. To this day, that bargain hasn’t been broken.”)

Jason finished his narrative and looked at his audience. Dick, Babs and Bruce looked at him with varying levels of pride and happiness. He quickly averted his gaze. He looked at Stephanie to see her looking at her hands. He squeezed her shoulder gently.

“Is something wrong Blondie?” She shook her head. She lifted her head to look at Jason.

“I’m thinking, is all.” She looked at the others assembled. “I’m sorry I asked, or rather, demanded your stories. It was rude of me, and I know it wasn’t easy for you to tell me. I’m sorry.” She lowered her gaze and sighed. “I’m sorry you all had to relive those memories.”

“Hey, it’s alright. The truth was gonna come out sooner or later. We had already decided to tell you anyway, so don’t fret.” Jason quickly assured her. She looked into his eyes and started to smile.

“Alright, I won’t be too upset.” She paused. “My life story is kind of bland, compared to all of yours though.” Jason gaped at her, and Barbara leaned forward.

“Steph, you don’t have to tell us anything about yourself if you don’t want to.” Stephanie shook her head.

“That’s not how I was raised Babs. Mom would have my head if I,” She trailed off for a moment as her eyes closed. She opened them and blinked rapidly. “She’d have my head if I didn’t repay you all. She was always like that.” She swiped her eyes quickly and Dick chimed in.

“Alright, if you want to tell us about your life, we won’t object. Before you start though, I want to ask Jay a question.” He turned to look at his younger brother. “The woman, Ducra, she knew about the pit. Did she ever mention how she knew? And for that matter, what she did she mean by ‘the first human in a thousand years’?” Jason sighed heavily and turned to look at Dick.

“I asked her about that once. She told me that she was much older than she looked, due in part to a Lazarus Pit. If she’s to be believed, she’s over 4,000 years old. She and a few of her people encountered a Lazarus Pit and inadvertently drank from it. It granted them immortality. She said that there are numerous more scattered throughout the world.” Everyone present stared in shock. Babs was the first to regain her composure.

“We had already discovered Ra’s had more than one Pit. Between the three of us, we discovered 8 on three different continents.” Jason grimaced. He cleared his throat.

“Actually, if Ducra is right, there are at least 20. And there’s at least one on each continent. Well, except Antarctica. She didn’t know if there was one there or not.” There was another stunned silence. “She’s seen so many pits; she came to be able to recognize the smell of them. And as for the ‘thousand years’, the last member to survive the cleansing stopped being a ‘normal’ human 1,000 years before me. Once a person is dipped in the pool in the ‘Acres of All’, if they don’t die, they gain a level of magical resistance that makes them stop aging like ‘normal’ people.”

Bruce stared at his second son in awe. Jason still had anger issues, but he had matured so much from the mouthy boy who had first come to the manor. He felt a pang of sadness and regret that he hadn’t been there to watch him grow. When Stephanie looked at him, he shook his head and blocked out every emotion except calm. He would linger on his negative emotions when he was in the cave later. Bruce cleared his throat, intent on asking more about Ducra and her people, but Stephanie interrupted.

“You seem hesitant to talk about her. Is she alright, or have you been able to communicate with her since you left, or…” She trailed off as Jason shot her a grateful look. He kissed her knuckles once more.

“Yes I have been able to communicate with her since I left. I can only do so if I’m meditating, as the mark on my chest connects me back there. Meditation is the only way I can talk with her. It’s just that, the ‘All-Caste’ are very reclusive and secretive. As it is, I’m telling more about them than I should. That’s all.” Stephanie smiled at him and nodded.

“Alright, then I guess it’s my turn at story time.” Babs reached out to grab her free hand.

“You don’t have to tell us anything, Steph. Get to know us better before you do. I promise, we can wait.” Stephanie shook her head as she squeezed Babs’s hand.

“It’s not fair that you all told me your stories, and I get a pass.” She shook her head again. “I want to tell you about myself.” Dick chimed in.

“Steph, please don’t feel like you have to tell us.” Steph pulled her hands out of Jason and Babs’ grips. She crossed her arms and glared at Dick. Dick lifted his hands in surrender.

“I know I don’t have to, I want to. There’s a difference, alright?” Dick and the others nodded their heads. At their agreement, Stephanie nodded. She snuggled back against Jason and grabbed his hands, wrapping them around herself. She failed to see Jason’s blush.

“Alright then, now that that’s settled, I’ll start.” She paused for a moment to take a deep breath. “I was born on July 9, 1945 to Arthur and Crystal Brown. I’m an only child and I was actually born seven weeks early. The doctors were afraid I wouldn’t make it, being rather small as I was, but I survived. I was five years old when my father was first arrested. And that’s when my mother became addicted to pain pills.”


	12. Chapter 11: The Past Revealed (Stephanie's Part)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap you guys, I didn’t get flagged as inappropriate for the last chapter. I honestly thought people would either; stop reading my story, un-favorite it, stop following it, or report me. I know there are a lot of stories out there that are more graphic than this one, but I worry about things like that. I would like to go on record as saying I love all of you for reading this story and sticking with me throughout. I can’t express enough how much you all totally make my day with your kind comments. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so very much. I only hope I can continue to live up to your expectations.
> 
> I mentioned before Stephanie knows how to defend herself because of her dad. In the comics, Cluemaster wasn’t a strong guy, and he more or less got by due to his brain. In my story, he learned to box as a kid, and served in WW2 before being discharged. So, when Stephanie was younger, he taught her how to fight. As she got older, she learned more fighting techniques. And for future references, there’s a reason why being around the Wayne clan made her empathetic abilities grow. But only Tabitha knows as of right now. Speaking of Tabitha, there’s a reason why she’s not at the manor yet. 
> 
> Final notes: I’m really sorry about any historic flaws in my story. I don’t know a lot about the army, and I only wrote what I thought might have happened towards the end of WW2. So if any of my history is wrong, I’m very sorry and I’m trying my hardest to remain true to history. It’s been ten years since I graduated, and I haven’t read about WW2 since before then. Please, please, please, forgive me if any of this is wrong. I’m really sorry, and I hope I don’t fail anyone when it comes to WW2, segregation or the ‘Red Scare’. 
> 
> In the story, Stephanie’s best friend Beth is black. (Her skin color has very little to do with the story, it’s just mentioned to have the Brown’s being one of the first families to be friendly towards the new neighbors.) And segregation ended sooner in the north then in the south. In Gotham, segregation ended fifteen years before the story starts (again, I’m very sorry history buffs). I’m saying that Gotham City is in New Jersey, as I’ve read people say it’s based on a city there. In the 1940’s, segregation ended in New Jersey and other northern states, so in my story, it ended in 1949. (If I’m wrong about when it ended, please leave me a note and I’ll fix it. Actually, if I’m wrong about any of my history, just leave me a polite note, and I’ll fix it ASAP.)
> 
> Last note; I received a review asking about Stephanie’s middle name and I never mentioned why Stephanie’s middle name is ‘Nicole’. The real reason is, that name sounded appropriate to the time period. In the comics, Stephanie, Cassandra (she’s set to appear in a sequel) and Damian don’t have middle names. And for some reason, Nicole just seemed to flow the best. (To me at least.) And the characters need to have other names to hide the fact they’re the same people. So ‘Nicole’ is a name I gave her, but if anyone can find out her real middle name, please, please, please send me a message telling me what it is so I can fix it. Thank you once more for my wordy AN’s.
> 
> (Story ends on a slightly mature note. Things are getting kinda hot, so please be warned. It’s marked with 5 * marks. Next chapter may be graphic, but I will warn you all in my AN’s. The rating may go up for this story, I’m not sure. Thank you for your time.)
> 
> As always, I would like to give a big, warm thank you to Addie_Lover_of_Stories, Blueangle97, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, SamTheKingOfHell, Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 23 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank Nethra, RedLippedAngel, xiaotianshi, mtsukai, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx, SamTheKingOfHell, TheJokerQueen13 & Addie_Lover_of_Stories for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. It makes me feel so happy, and I hope you can forgive my long update times. Please bear with me and thank you all so very much for sticking with me, I hope I don’t disappoint anyone.
> 
> (P.S. if you have a question about something, like an aspect of the curse, what’s up with a certain character, etc. please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. I’ll gladly tell you what I can. Thanks again ;P) P.P.S. I won’t stop posting my thanks to everyone I just mentioned, as I feel I owe all of you a big amount of gratitude, and if it weren’t for you, this fic wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has. Thank you again.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten. Also, ‘At Last’ belongs to Mack Gordon, Harry Warren, Glenn Miller, Argo (records), Etta James and anyone else I forgot to mention.

“Alright then, now that that’s settled, I’ll start.” She paused for a moment to take a deep breath. “I was born on July 9, 1945 to Arthur and Crystal Brown. I’m an only child and I was actually born seven weeks early. The doctors were afraid I wouldn’t make it, being rather small as I was, but I survived. I was five years old when my father was first arrested. And that’s when my mother became addicted to pain pills.”

Stephanie looked at everyone around her. She smiled at her audience and continued her story.

(“To be fair to my father, he was a brilliant man. He graduated with honors from high school and had just been accepted into Princeton. Not only was he an intelligent man, he was also a very skilled swimmer. Sadly, before he could return home for the winter season, he received his draft notice. He was assigned to the 77th Sustainment Brigade. He never spoke much about his days in the Army, but he did tell me that he fought in the battle of Guam. During the battle, he was shot and almost died. He received an honorable discharge and was sent home.

“In the time before he was deployed, he met my mother and the two started corresponding. When he returned in late August, the two of them got married. During the time dad was away, my mom was training to become a nurse. She was a quiet woman, always keeping to herself. But she loved my dad, and for a while things were fine. Not long after they were married, she found out she was pregnant. At this time, dad had a very good job for the ‘Gotham Municipal Bank’. They were both excited to have their first child.

“However, they were involved in a car accident, which caused mom to go into labor early. She told me, that I didn’t cry when I was born, that my face was blue. The doctors feared I was dead, until one of the Doctors, a Leslie Thompkins, noticed something in my mouth. She cleaned my face well and wrapped me up and gently thumped my back. Something came out of my mouth and I started squalling. It’s because of her, that I’m alive today. The doctors were concerned that I wouldn’t make it through the night, but I did. The accident injured mom, so the doctors prescribed Methadone.

“For the first four years of my life, everything went well. Mom took to being a stay at home wife and mother. Dad was the bread winner of the family. Then, one night dad got a call from one of his co-workers, saying that the bank had caught fire. The fire was put out quickly, but numerous people lost all of their money. Every bank employee lost their jobs, which sent dad into a downward spiral. He tried to find another job at a different bank, but each time, his increasingly bad attitude caused him to lose his job. That’s when he started to hit mom.

“I only vaguely remember, but it’s hard to forget the sight of your mother cowering on the floor, while your father is standing over her, yelling at her and hitting her. Years later, mom told me it was due to stress from not having a job. She told me that things had gotten worse from when he first returned from war. His battle fatigue made him irritable, anxious, moody, depressed, paranoid and so on. He had days when you didn’t want to be near him, and days when he was regretful and wanted to apologize. When he was in a mood, mom took her Methadone and waited for him to either leave or calm down. The days he was calm, he tried to find another job. He was the one who taught me how to swim and of course he taught me how to fight.

“Not long after I turned five, he took a job for a friend of his. The job involved stealing from the ‘Gotham Art Museum’. Dad found he was a very good thief. Afterwards, he started planning heists on his own. I guess you all know where that led. The day before he was arrested the first time, he and mom got into it about the job. Dad was surprised she had figured out what he was doing, but he didn’t like her telling him what to do. ‘I’m a man, Crystal, and I got my pride. I have to be the one to provide for my family.’  
“Mom tried to talk him out of doing the job, but he was a proud, selfish man. He started hitting her and had her pinned to the ground. I had seen enough, so I ran to her side, and I started punching him. He looked up at me, and smacked me hard enough that I hit the wall. I held my face crying, glaring at my dad. He looked at me, shock written across his face. Mom used the break to push him off of her and she grabbed me. She yelled at him, told him to get the hell out!”)

“Oww, Jason you’re hurting me.” Stephanie yelped. Jason was squeezing her tightly against his chest. At her words, he gasped and released her. He gripped him fists and looked like he wanted to punch something, or someone. Stephanie looked at Jason, then to the others in the room. Dick’s nostrils were flared, Barbara was gripping Dick’s hand so tight, her knuckles where white. And Bruce had broken his teacup from earlier. Stephanie took a deep breath and placed a soothing hand on Jason’s.

“Alright, what did I say to make you so mad? Was it talking about my dad? Honestly, all of you had it much worse than me.” Jason shot her an incredulous look and shook his head.  
“I’m sorry about hurting you, babe. I just hate it when men beat up on women and kids. I have a bad history with assholes like that. Your dad is lucky he’s dead, or else I’d hunt him down and beat the ever living shit out of him.” He turned to look her in the eyes and gently grabbed her hands. “If you choose to join us, I promise you, no man will ever lay his hands on you again. No one messes with this clan and gets away with it.” Steph flashed Jason a crooked grin.

“That sounds a little violent.” She chuckled and kissed Jason on the cheek. “But, it also sounds very sweet, and I can tell all of you keep your promises.” She looked around again to see everyone nodding in agreement. “Thank you for counting me among your family, it means a lot to me.” She whispered timidly.

“Regardless of whether you decide to join us or not, you’re one of us now. We protect our own like nobody’s business.” Jason replied. Dick glanced at Babs and winked at her. Babs rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I’m sorry about interrupting you, babe. I couldn’t stop myself.” Steph raised an eyebrow.

“’Babe’ huh?” She laughed at Jason’s blush.

“Sorry, it slipped out. I thought ‘Blondie’ was a bit obvious.” Steph sneered.

“Please don’t ever call me ‘Blondie’. It’s bad enough I heard that all throughout high school. That was my dad’s nickname.” Jason nodded.

“Right, no ‘Blondie’.” He looked at her shyly. “So, is it alright if I call you babe?” Stephanie laughed again.

“Only if it’s you who calls me that. I like it.” She snuggled back against Jason. “Now, where was I? Oh, mom grabbed me and told dad to ‘get the hell out’. He left and the next night, he was arrested.”

(“After dad left that night, mom held me close and told me it was going to be alright. The next night, we got a call from the police saying that dad had been arrested. Mom told the police she didn’t have the money for bail, so he had to stay in prison. A few weeks later, he was charged and sentenced to Blackgate Penitentiary for 2 years. In the meantime, mom made a decision to get help with her addiction. After she succeeded, she got a job as a nurse at the nearest hospital. I started school and everything worked out alright. Mom had always been good at sewing, so in her spare time, she took to making clothes for us and repairing clothes for the neighbors.

“Aside from being kind of lonely, there wasn’t anything to complain about. I was happy, mom was working and we had each other. She was working and making money to pay for the house, so everything seemed to be going alright. Then came the day dad was released; consequently, dad wasn’t happy that mom, a woman, was making the money. He had it in his head that the man had to be the one supporting the family. So dad began drinking and yelled at mom because of it. It took one of the neighbors, one of the two ‘cousins’ living next door to set him straight. 

“After that day, the ‘cousins’ became like uncles to me. I know now that they’re gay, but that doesn’t matter. They work, pay their bills and keep their noses out of everybody’s business. I only found out when I saw them kissing. When they saw me, they started to panic and told me I was just seeing things. I told them I didn’t care about if they loved each other or not, I was just happy we were friends. They made me promise not to tell anyone and you all are the only ones I’ve told, ever. Dad began making friends with the wrong type of people, and soon he was back to his old ways.

“I will say that when he was in a good mood, he did try his best to bond with me. He told me that he was sorry he had hit mom and me. He promised he had never meant to hit me. And that his temper had gotten the better of him when he had hit mom. I didn’t believe him, but I tried to give him another chance. He taught me more fighting moves, moves he had learned in the ‘pen’. One day, he saw me running down the hall, and suggested we run down the block a few times, together. That started my love of running, which turned into a love of track in high school.

“Before I turned eight, we had some new neighbors move in. They were black and had moved from Illinois. I didn’t care about their skin color; I only noticed they had a little girl about the same age as me. I didn’t have many friends, mainly because the kids at school didn’t want to be friends with a criminal’s daughter. Before the family could finish moving in, I ran over and introduced myself. Mom came over afterwards and apologized for my bad manners. The Richmond’s only shook their heads fondly and called Beth. Beth was shy, and I was a bit too loud, so mom pulled me away, apologizing to the new family.

“Mom chastised me, and told me to go over there the next day and apologize. I wanted to cry, she was the first new kid my age, and she seemingly didn’t want to be friends with me. Before I went to bed, I looked towards the neighbor’s house and saw her looking across the street at me. I waved my hand, and to my surprise, she waved back. The next day, mom and I went over again, with a basket full of goodies. They introduced themselves as Michael and Evie Richmond. They called their daughter again, and told her to apologize for being so rude the day before. Mom squeezed my shoulder and whispered for me to be calmer and not so loud.

“Elizabeth, or Beth for short, stood in front of me, and apologized. I apologized too, saying I just wanted to be friends. She kind of shuffled her feet, and said she wanted to be friends to. Mom told me to get one of my dolls and bring it over if the Richmond’s said I could play. They nodded and said we could play in the living room, as long as mom said it was alright. That day, Beth became my best friend, and we’ve been friends ever since. She’s still kind of shy, but she’s easily the best friend anyone could ever ask for. She was the only one in school who didn’t make fun of me because of my dad.

“Then, on my eighth birthday, dad robbed another bank. He managed to get away and made it home. But before he could get inside, that’s when you caught him, Bruce. I remember, dad trying to talk you out of arresting him, saying he had a daughter he wanted to get back to. I heard him from inside the house, so I ran outside and peeked around the corner. Dad looked up and saw me, telling me to get back inside, that everything was alright. I looked from him to you, and saw you look at me. You said dad had done something wrong, but was going to make things right, and I never doubted you.”)

Bruce stared at Steph in shock. A few seconds went by, before he nodded his head.

“That’s right. I thought he was trying to convince me he was a changed man. But he only changed how he stole. I almost didn’t get him in time.” Bruce paused, lifting a hand to his chin. “I heard someone run up to us, and I was surprised to see a little girl staring at us. You looked so upset, but I didn’t want to lie to you, so I told you the truth. I was relieved when you nodded your head, and went back inside.” 

Steph nodded once more. She grinned widely. 

“I’m a little surprised you didn’t recognize me last week. You remember arresting my dad, but you didn’t remember me?” She teased Bruce lightly. Bruce sighed.

“To be fair Stephanie, it has been almost eleven years. Neither you nor your mother did anything to warrant my surveillance. Not to mention, less than two months later, there was a breakout from Arkham. I decided you had enough to worry about, so I didn’t check up on the two of you. Maybe if I had, your parents would still be alive.” Bruce replied in a somber tone. Stephanie shook her head.

“You couldn’t have known what dad was going to get into. It’s not your fault. Dad is the only one to blame when it comes to that.” She took a deep breath. “I know I’ve sounded rather pessimistic lately, but the truth is, deep down, I’m a hopeful person. When you told me that everything was going to be alright, I had hope that my dad would be able to get the help he needed. It’s his own fault for messing up like he did.” She nodded again and returned to her story.

(“So for the second time, he was arrested. Mom tried her hardest to make ends meet, and as such she stopped buying new clothes. Instead, she started making all of our clothes. The neighbors all stuck up their noses and shunned mom and I. The only ones who didn’t were the Richmond’s, who became like a second set of parents to me and the Hamilton’s, my ‘uncles’. School life was harder for me, mainly because the kids now actively went out of their way to bully me. And their parents started acting like assholes towards mom. Garry Hamilton started teaching me some karate, so the bullying wouldn’t turn physical.

“Before dad got arrested, roughly a week or so before, he had invited a few of his ‘friends’ over to ‘talk’. They were really ‘talking’ about robbing the bank, but I didn’t know that at the time. Anyway, I went to tell dad goodnight, when one of his ‘friends’ started staring at me. He actually asked dad who old I was. He got up, walked over to me and grabbed my chin. He looked me in the eye, and a heavy feeling formed in my stomach. Dad told him to back off, but he said I’d make a ‘damn fine looker’ when I got of age. Dad told him to let me go and pulled him off of me.

“He raised his hands and said he was sorry, but I knew he was lying. Two nights later, I heard him ask dad if he wanted to sell me. Dad punched him in the nose, and told him to leave me alone. The night after dad was arrested, he had the nerve to stop by and tell us how sorry he was about the incident. Mom tried to shut the door in his face, but he came right in. He looked at me, and my blood ran cold. When he tried to come close to me, I decked him as hard as I could. I broke his jaw.

“He was pissed, but before he could retaliate, mom called the police. He ran away, but was found and arrested less than two hours later. Let’s just say, he never tried anything like that again. After that, Garry decided he was going to teach me and Beth more self-defense. Beth was worried about learning, but agreed when she heard what had almost happened to me. When I was ten, I was in an accident which broke my right leg, and caused me to miss the start of the next school year. So I was eleven when I started fifth grade, which is why I only just graduated high school. In the meantime, Brice Hamilton taught me to cook.

“Ever since I was really little, mom had taken me to church every Sunday, Wednesday and on holidays. She was the one to tell me about the manor being haunted, after she heard Brice telling me about ghosts and witches during one of the lessons. I didn’t pay much attention at the time, as I had no reason to come this way. So it was years later, when I saw Batman asking one of the police if he could come in, that I remembered what mom had told me. But, I’ll get to that in a minute. After my leg healed, I still needed to wait for the next school years to start. Luckily for me, Beth’s birthday is late in November, so she and I would be in the same grade when school started again.

“So things continued to be good for a while. Then when I turned thirteen, dad was released once again. He claimed to be a changed man, even though I wasn’t so certain of that. Garry once asked mom why she had stayed with dad after everything he had done. She told him, that unless he started sleeping with any other woman, she didn’t see any reason to divorce him. Besides, she still loved him, although she did put her foot down and tell him to find another job. Dad agreed, and did find more work. 

“However, with his bad attitude and arrogance, the job didn’t last long. He kept looking for work though, so it never occurred to me that he was back to stealing. It was only when a strange man came to the house asking for dad, that I found out he was working for Falcone. And that he had worked for him previously. I was so mad at my father, that he had lied once more. One night, I found a map with a bunch of ‘x’ marks on it. It took a while to realize the marks were of banks, museums, galleries, etc. I was furious, so I went to the living room, to confront him when he came in. 

“I saw my mother’s coat, a purple hooded coat, and was struck with an idea. I found some leftover fabric and made my own outfit. It was a stupid idea, I had no way of getting around Gotham like Batman. All I could think of was capturing dad. That took a little time, as he didn’t rob another gallery for almost a month. The next time he did, I knew where he was going to be and I headed there to stop him. Long story short, I was almost too late. The only thing I could do to stall for time until the police showed up, was attack them.

“Dad got away, but other members of his group were arrested. I wanted to meet Batman, but he didn’t show up. So, I went out the next night, thinking I would see him then. I didn’t, but I did stop a mugging. And within no time, I had gone from wanting my dad arrested to wanting to help other people. After that, I was hooked. I couldn’t go out every night, but I went out as often as I could. A few weeks after my ‘debut’ as Spoiler, I finally saw Batman.

“Unfortunately, I saw him slam a guy into a wall. I went to get closer, when I saw him put his head to the man’s neck. I was surprised, and didn’t move until he lifted his head. Then I saw the blood on the guy’s neck, and when he turned, I saw the fangs. I gasped in shock, because surely vampires didn’t really exist. He heard me and made to come towards the sound. Fortunately, the commissioner came in from a side door and distracted him. I ran as fast and as far as I could.

“I stayed inside for the next couple of weeks. When I got the chance, I asked mom about vampires. She told me they weren’t real, but if they were, they would be weak against silver. When I asked Garry, who had moved do to someone accusing him and Brice of being communists, what he knew about vampires, he told me iron was supposed to protect against anything magical. So, I found some iron, and took to carrying some in my pockets. Dad was almost busted again, but got away. During the day, I was doing well in school, and then I met Aaron. We talked a little, and became friends, but it didn’t seem to go anywhere.

“I was going out at night again, and saw that Batman was unable to enter a building without being invited inside by the police. So I kept doing what I had been doing, and trying my hardest not to be captured by Batman, while trying to fight crime. At school, Aaron asked me to go steady with him, and I said yes. We went out six or seven times, before he told me he wanted to be with me. Mom was happy, but dad wasn’t. Never the less, I agreed. Less than a year after I started being Spoiler, Aaron and I had sex for the first time. I know it was stupid, but I thought I was in love with him.

“Over the next few months, we had sex three more times. The last time, he seemed kind of distant, so I was afraid he was going to break up with me. He told me he had gotten a job at one of the warehouses by the docks. He seemed happy about it. Two days later, he was killed along with seven other workers in a ‘mysterious’ explosion. The cause was determined to be a fire started by a cigarette, which ignited the chemicals in the warehouse. I was devastated, and a month later I discovered I was pregnant. Dad was furious, and mom was disappointed, but they said they’d help me raise the baby. 

“One of the girls at school told me about getting an abortion, but I told her I’d never do something like that. I was worried I would be a bad mother, but I would never kill a baby. Then there was the fire at the theater that killed mom and dad. That’s when Falcone himself appeared at the funeral and told me about the agreement he had with my dad. Then I found out about Aaron being killed to send a message to dad. I was a nervous wreck, but through it all, the Richmond’s were there for me. They took me in, and helped me sell everything I could to make the money to finish paying off Falcone. And then, just before the end of January, I went into labor three weeks early.

“I was afraid I was going to lose the baby, but she was born healthy. When the doctor went to place her in my arms, I looked away and told the doctor I was giving her up for adoption. That was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. But I was afraid to bring her home, that Falcone might try to do something to her. I only asked the doctor if she was healthy after he told me it was a girl. The doctor told me she was, and I told him to make sure she found a good home.”)

Stephanie stopped her story, and started weeping. Jason pulled her to his chest and squeezed her tightly. Stephanie looked up to see Babs sniffle and Dick wipe at his eyes. She gasped aloud when she saw something red slide past his hand.

“Dick, is something wrong with your eye?” She asked, concerned. She felt Jason tense next to her. Dick looked at her and swallowed. He shook his head.

“No Steph. Nothing’s wrong with my eye.” Steph raised an eyebrow.

“Then, why is it bleeding?” She heard Bruce heave a heavy sigh. Dick grinned at her sheepishly.

“Well, the truth is, we cry tears of blood.” Stephanie gaped at him. “We mentioned that we sweat, cry and bleed like anyone else. The only difference is that when we cry or sweat, it comes out as blood. It’s to mark us as being ‘not-human’ or ‘not-living’, if you will.” Bruce cleared his throat to speak, but Jason cut him off.

“We bleed like normal people when we get cut, but we also lose blood when we cry or sweat. That’s why we need to drink blood on a daily basis. We only have so much blood within us, but since we’re no longer alive, we lose what little blood we have easily. Sure, if we drink blood every day, it helps keep us from being recognized. But, in doing so, it causes us to lose our blood faster and needs to be replaced much sooner. Which is why it’s not a good idea to go beyond four days drinking blood. If we don’t drink every day, it not only makes us lethargic and saps our energy, it also causes us to become more aggressive. Either way, we need to be careful no one sees us crying or sweating, or else we’re in big trouble.”

Stephanie looked around her once more, and a creeping sense of worry settled in on her.

“So, if anyone sees you crying blood, they could come after you?” Jason nodded his head. Bruce picked up the conversation.

“There are a handful of hunters in the city. And if anyone of them saw us sweating blood, they’d know exactly what we are and attack us. We cannot let anyone else know what we are, or it could doom not only us but everyone around us. Even if they don’t know the truth.” Bruce held Stephanie’s gaze to convey the severity of the situation. Stephanie shifted her posture, and sat as tall as she could.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not a gossip, Mr. Wayne.” She felt an overwhelming sense of relief from everyone. Bruce tipped his head toward her.

“Thank you, Miss Brown. We’re in your debt.” Stephanie shook her head rapidly.

“Oh no. No, you’re not indebted to me, I’m the one still indebted to you.” She threw her hands up to ward off any further comments. “I don’t want to hear it, so don’t start. As it is, this may very well be my family in the future. And I don’t betray me family. And my father doesn’t count.” Jason chuckled softly beside her.

“You’re feisty, that’s for sure. Babe.” She elbowed him in the side as best she could. “I’m sorry you had to give up your baby. When I heard you tell me yesterday, I got mad because it sounded so much like Sheila. But now I know, without a shadow of a doubt, you’re the total opposite of Sheila. I hope the baby found a caring family outside of Gotham, so she never has to worry like us.” Jason pressed a gentle kiss to Steph’s temple.

Babs wiped away another tear and smiled at Stephanie.

“I knew you were stronger than you thought you were. Maybe you should have listened to me.” Stephanie glared at Babs and stuck her tongue out at her. Everyone chuckled, before Stephanie cleared her throat.

(“Well after that, I went back to school, and everyone either looked at me with disgust or ignored me. After school, I started working as a waitress at a diner close to where the Richmond’s. I had pretty much sold everything I could in order to pay back Falcone. The bank took back the house, but I sold the furniture, my parent’s clothes, mom’s jewelry, even all of my puzzles. I used to have at least twenty jigsaw puzzles growing up, and after I finished them, mom or dad would find a picture frame and glue the puzzle to the back of the frame. That way, when they were done, we would be able to enjoy the scenes they had. It was almost like having pictures of foreign landscapes, without us ever traveling there. I had to sell every single one of them, but if it weren’t for them, I would have been 1000 dollars short. 

“Falcone saw how I was trying to repay him, and the little beady-eyed son of a bitch, went and raised the amount I owed him. He claimed I owed him twenty-five hundred more than I did, so I had no choice but to get another job at another diner. Mr. Richmond helped me to get a third job that I could work on the weekend. He wasn’t happy about me working myself to the bone, but I told him, he and his family didn’t need to be caught up in what was going on, so he reluctantly agreed. Between the stress from school, working three jobs and worrying about Falcone, it’s no wonder I caught the flu. I almost lost all three jobs when I was admitted to the hospital for a week, but somehow my bosses didn’t fire me. I only have 1000 dollars left to finish off my debt, and even though Mr. Richmond tried to give me money to help with my debt, I told him I had to do this on my own. I realized I needed to get as far away from Gotham as I could, so as not to draw his attention, and that’s how I ended up here.

“I still think you can do much better than me as a secretary, Mr. Wayne, but I’m glad I know why you chose me. I just wish I had been able to get away without Falcone’s men finding out I was trying to give them the slip. On Saturday, Babs and I ran right into three on his ‘men’ and almost didn’t get away unseen.”

Stephanie paused when she heard Jason choke next to her. He tightened his grip on her and closed his eyes. He sucked in a breath through his teeth.

“What do you mean, ‘you ran into three of his men’?” He opened his eyes and glared at Babs from the corner of his eyes. Dick furrowed his brows and shifted himself subtly in front of Babs. She shook her head and sighed.

“When we went out Saturday, to buy some more clothes for Stephanie to wear, we almost ran into Falcone’s goons. Stephanie saw them first, and dragged me away from them. We hide behind the corner until they left, and when they did, Steph had a hard time catching her breath. I asked if she was alright, and she shook her head. She said there was nothing, just an overactive imagination. I knew she was lying, so I decided to see what had scared her. I saw the men and recognized them as working with Falcone, so I looked at her and asked her to tell me the truth. She told me what she told us about Falcone, albeit somewhat shorter. 

“That’s when I realized why she had been nervous the night before; because she was concerned she would run into them. After that, we returned back to the manor. I promise you Jay, if I had realized they were hunting for her so soon, I never would have brought her with me.” She shifted her gaze to Steph. “I’m not trying to talk about you as if you’re not here, I know you can fight. I just don’t Jason to bite my head off because I almost got his new girlfriend hurt or killed.” She giggled slightly when Jason and Stephanie both blushed madly.

Bruce turned to look at the fireplace to hide his grin. The last thing he wanted was for Jason to see him laughing at his embarrassment. Jason had just come back to the manor; he might leave if he thought he was being laughed at. He was glad to see his second son come back home. He wanted to cherish every moment Jason was home. And to find out Jason had found his ‘partner’ made him happier still.

Jason deserved so much after the life he had led. By the looks of things, Stephanie deserved much better as well. It made him wish he had kept an eye on her when she was younger. Hindsight was 20/20 after all. He schooled his expression into one of calm, and turned back around, in time to catch his oldest son teasing Jason. Stephanie glanced at Bruce and slyly winked at him. ‘Oh,’ he thought ‘she’s going to be a handful. I just hope she and Jason lead a happy life together.’

On the edge of his desk, his small antique clock chimed 6:00. Everyone stopped talking and looked at it. Stephanie was the first to recover.

“Is it six in the evening already? My goodness Mr. Wayne, you weren’t joking when you said it would take the better part of the day to tell. And the sun’s come out as well.” Bruce looked at one of the windows beside him.

“Yes, the rain stopped a few hours after we started talking this morning.” He shrugged his shoulders. “We were just so caught up talking I didn’t really pay it much mind.” Jason sighed dramatically and nudged Steph.

“Leave it to Bruce to realize it had stopped raining, even while it was his story being told.” Stephanie giggled. The next moment, Jarvis returned to tell the others dinner would be ready at 8:00 sharp.

 

It was decided after dinner, that Jason would stay at the manor with Stephanie and Jarvis. Jason wanted to argue, but Bruce cut him off. He replied that if Jason went out, there was a higher chance of the werewolves from the night before being ‘taken care of’. Jason glanced at Stephanie and saw her glance at the ground and agreed to stay behind. After they left, Jason asked Stephanie if she wanted a tour of the manor, before remembering she had already had the tour. She giggled lightly and asked if he could show her the ballroom again. Jason raised his eyebrow in confusion, but led the way. As they walked, Stephanie hesitantly reached out and entwined her fingers with Jason’s.

Jason tensed, before relaxing and gently rubbed the back of her hand. Stephanie glanced at him, blushing madly, before looking straight ahead. Jason cleared his throat.

“So, Jarvis told you why this was my favorite room as a kid. Is that why you wanted to come, or is there another reason?” He asked quietly. Stephanie sighed and nodded her head.

“The truth is, while I love the way the ceiling is decorated, I really just wanted to look around again.” She hesitated, and squeezed Jason’s hand. “Besides, I wanted to, umm, well…” She trailed off. They stopped in front of the doorway. Jason turned to reach a hand out to her face. He cupped her chin, and rubbed her cheek, frowning when she bit her lip.

“What’s wrong babe? What did you want to do? You can ask me anything you want, alright?” She looked at him and sighed again.

“I wanted to…” She looked at him. “I’m sorry, it’s going to sound stupid.” Jason rubbed her cheek again. Before he could speak, Steph replied. “I just wanted to dance.” She paused, looking down. “Mom and dad never had the money for me to take lessons, but ‘Uncle’ Brice and ‘Uncle’ Garry taught me how to waltz, and I wanted to dance again.

“I can’t remember when I danced last. It wasn’t long after Aaron and I started dating, since he wasn’t very good. And a lot of things happened after he died. I just thought it would be alright if I wanted to dance here.” Here she stopped and looked at Jason, her face flushed pink. “I thought, I mean, if you wanted to, that we might be able to dance together?” Jason felt his face warm up. Steph frowned and looked down.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine, I didn’t to tell you that you had to. I shouldn’t have assumed,” She trailed off as Jason moved his hand to place a finger on her lips. She looked at him, surprised. He smiled at her and placed a chaste kiss on her nose.

“I’d love to dance with you, babe.” He laughed. “To be honest, it’s been some years since I danced, let alone waltzed. But I’m more than prepared to mess up until I get it right. Hopefully you can overlook my mistakes.” Stephanie perked up, grinning widely at him. “Do you have a song in mind? I’m sure Bruce and Jarvis have several records to choose from.” 

He opened the doors and led the way in. He quickly flicked one of the switches, bringing subtle lighting to the enormous ballroom. Stephanie turned several times taking in the lighting. She faced him, with a smile so large, it looked like should have hurt her. Jason walked over to the record player perched on stone table. Sitting beside it, was a lidded box. Jason opened it and began looking through the 45’s. Stephanie walked to him, and began looking at herself.

They spent a few moments looking at the labels, before she pointed to one. She looked at Jason expectantly.

“Can we play this one, please? It’s probably my favorite song.” She paused and blushed again. “And, it seems appropriate, I think.” She began twiddling her thumbs. Jason had to stifle a laugh as he read the title.

“I don’t think I’ve heard this one before. Is it a slow song?” Jason looked at Steph and she nodded. “Alright, it sounds good to me. “ He removed the record from its cover and placed it on the player. He started it and placed the needle on the record. He moved to Stephanie and waited for the song to start. 

He found to his surprise, that he liked the song. Especially since it applied to himself and Stephanie. The lady singer had a beautiful voice. It took a few mis-starts, but eventually Jason found his footing. Stephanie closed her eyes, becoming caught up in the music. They danced to the end of the song, and Jason frowned. He went to the player and started it again. In his mind, Ms. Etta James was a great singer.

Stephanie laughed as he came back to her. They danced again, and Jason decided ‘At Last’ was one of his favorite songs. Stephanie was still smiling when the song ended. Jason awkwardly headed back to the player to find a different record, not wanting to damage the 45. He found another record that seemed appropriate and played the record. The pair played records and danced for over an hour. During one song, Jason got bold and decided to spin Steph out and pull her back. Stephanie laughed as she was pulled back and threw her arms around Jason’s neck.  
*****

The song ended and the two laughed. They looked into each other’s eyes and Stephanie became overcome with a desire to kiss Jason. She leaded up on her toes and kissed him on the mouth. She pulled his head closer and gripped his short hair. They separated and she saw his eyes had become dilated. She felt him slide his hands up into her hair. She kissed him again and he slid his tongue against her mouth. She opened her mouth and pressed her tongue against his.

She heard him moan and she ground herself up against him. The next thing she knew, she was being pushed against the wall, with Jason sliding one hand down to her thighs. She felt Jason gently pull her thigh up and she sighed in pleasure. Jason was still kissing her and he only had one thought; he was completely screwed when it came to Stephanie.


	13. Chapter 12: Growing Closer (And Then Some)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me throughout this story. As a thank you for putting up with my late update, here’s the next chapter. I’m glad you liked the last chapter, even if it ended on a steamy note. (Truth be told, once I started the make-out scene, I just couldn’t stop myself from writing this chapter.)
> 
> *****WARNING: This chapter will be a bit more graphic, so if this sort of thing turns you off, please scroll down to the page break. And for those of you who do like this sort of thing, I’m apologizing in advance for my crappy writing skills. I swore I wouldn’t write a make out scene or sex scene. But with vampires, it kinda goes with the territory, so please overlook my lack of decent make-out scenes. I’m sorry, and I realize they’re not going to be good, but I’m going to try my best. The first isn’t going to be a full sex scene, but second is much more graphic, and they do get ‘citrusy’. You have been warned.  
> *****  
> Also, rape will be mentioned more than once in a conversation between Dick and Jason. The conversation is very serious, and it is not meant in any way shape or form to be disrespectful or demeaning. I don’t know anyone who’s had this happen to them, but I’m trying my hardest to be respectful and not be an asshole about it. If anyone is triggered by this, please skip to the second page break. I don’t want to lose readers, but I also don’t want to seem rude or offend anyone. I’m very, very sorry in advance.*****
> 
> This chapter also ends on a cliffhanger.
> 
> As always, I would like to give a big, warm thank you to Addie_Lover_of_Stories, Blueangle97, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, SamTheKingOfHell, Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 24 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank Nethra, RedLippedAngel, xiaotianshi, mtsukai, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx, SamTheKingOfHell, TheJokerQueen13 & Addie_Lover_of_Stories for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. It makes me feel so happy, and I hope you can forgive my long update times. Please bear with me and thank you all so very much for sticking with me, I hope I don’t disappoint anyone.
> 
> (P.S. if you have a question about something, like an aspect of the curse, what’s up with a certain character, etc. please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. I’ll gladly tell you what I can. Thanks again ;P) P.P.S. I won’t stop posting my thanks to everyone I just mentioned, as I feel I owe all of you a big amount of gratitude, and if it weren’t for you, this fic wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has. Thank you again.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten. The Cheshire Cat belongs to Carroll Lewis.

The song ended and the two laughed. They looked into each other’s eyes and Stephanie became overcome with a desire to kiss Jason. She leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the mouth. She pulled his head closer and gripped his short hair. They separated and she saw his eyes had become dilated. She felt him slide his hands up into her hair. She kissed him again and he slid his tongue against her mouth. She opened her mouth and pressed her tongue against his.

She heard him moan and she ground herself up against him. The next thing she knew, she was being pushed against the wall, with Jason sliding one hand down to her thighs. She felt Jason gently pull her thigh up and she sighed in pleasure. Jason was still kissing her and he only had one thought; he was completely screwed when it came to Stephanie. She was so responsive to his touch, and already he could smell her arousal. She nipped at his bottom lip and he ground against her, sliding his hand toward her knee and pulled it toward his back. She got the hint and lifted her other leg and gripped him around his waist with her legs. He moved his hand back up to her waist and pushed under the hem of her pajama shirt.

Stephanie lowered one of her hands to Jason’s jacket and began to push it off his shoulders. He let go long enough to toss it behind him and she began yanking his shirt out from the waist of his pants. Jason moved his hand to the front of her shirt and gently pressed against her bra, and began rolling her nipples. She broke the kiss moaning excitedly and pushed up against his hand. She felt his erection straining against his pants, letting her know just how much he wanted this. She almost ripped the buttons off the front of his shirt, before she touched his skin. She looked him in the eyes and grinned seductively. She kissed him once more on the lips, before kissing him on the throat, and hesitantly licked his Adams apple.

He groaned lightly and cupped her breast, lifting it up to kiss through her shirt. He felt her stiffen as he did so, and he slid his teeth gently down to her nipple, giving it a gentle tug. She clenched his waist tighter and retaliated by licking further down his chest. He felt her wetness, and smirked into her shirt. Jason’s shirt was then pushed off his shoulders and Stephanie rolled her hips against him, causing him to hiss. She trailed her fingers down to his abs, slowly tracing his muscles. She turned her head back to his face and licked his earlobe, blowing on it and laughing when he groaned again. Just as he was about to rip her shirt off, it occurred to him what he was doing.

He knew neither of them were virgins, they both had some level of experience when it came to sex, but they were moving too fast. They had only met three nights ago, for crying out loud. He stopped kissing her, and felt her disappointment. That’s when it hit him what was going on. He had known for some time that the pull between soulmates was very intense due to the curse. Being a vampire, he was slightly more sexual then when he was human, but wanting to fuck Stephanie when he hardly knew her was a bit of a stretch. She wanted him just as badly, and her fledgling empathetic abilities were taking her own lust and causing him to feel it as his own. He smirked a little at the thought of her wanting him so much.

He knew though, this would end up causing a gap between them, or that their relationship would be based on lust alone. He shook his head and backed her away from the wall. She tilted her head at him curiously, and he shook his head. He motioned for her to lower her legs and stand up, holding her up while she did so. She frowned at him.

“Jason, what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong or…” She trailed off when he kissed her gently on the forehead. He placed both hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. He shook his head again.

“No babe, you were doing fine. In fact, you were doing great.” She burrowed her eyebrows.

“Then why did you stop me? I know I’m not very experienced, but I can learn.” Jason chuckled at her, causing her to tense up. “You don’t want me. Is that why you stopped?” She looked at the floor, and Jason winced at the sadness in her voice.

“No Steph, that’s not why, I promise.” She glanced at him from lowered eyes. “I was really getting into it, and to be honest, I’m surprised I had enough self-restraint to stop. But this isn’t how I wanted things to go between us.” Stephanie looked at him quizzically. Jason sighed as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “The truth is, I wanted to take some time and get to know you better. I didn’t want to just jump into bed with you.”

“I wanted to ask you out on a date and court you a little before we decided to get physical.” He slid one hand up to her jaw and rubbed his thumb across her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch and he smiled softly. “You deserve so much more than that and I wanted to show you the respect you deserve. I don’t want to ruin things with you, because I can’t keep it in my pants.” Stephanie chuckled opening her eyes to look at him.

“So, you didn’t stop because you didn’t want me?” She asked quietly. He shook his head. “You do want me then? Even though I’m not the best you could have gotten, because there are a lot of other women who…” She stopped abruptly when Jason kissed her on the lips. He took a minute to make sure he had her full attention before he stopped and spoke.

“Those other women aren’t you, Stephanie. You’re the only one for me, and I’m grateful I found you. You are something truly special babe, and I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for just being who you are. After what happened to me, what with Bruce turning me and being thrown into the pit, it scrambled my brain. Tabitha did everything she could to fix the damage and set my head back mostly straight, and I never thought I’d find my soulmate. I thought if I did, it would take decades, maybe centuries. Then when I saw you, everything that was skewed, was set to right. Just being near you, makes my heart feel lighter, and I feel like I can relax.

“I know I’ve killed people and no extended amount of time will let me fix the damage I’ve caused in my life. But with you around, I finally feel as if I can be forgiven for all of my misdeeds. Or at least, I feel like I can at least do my best to try and fix things. I know that sounds corny, but it’s true. When you’re around, I don’t feel so angry, I feel like I want to be a better person. I want to be good enough for you, babe.” Stephanie gave a watery little grin to Jason.

“You mean that, Jason? That you think I’m the only one for you?” Jason nodded his head and Steph laughed. “I don’t understand everything about the ‘soulmates’ thing you all were talking about, it’s still a lot to process. But if I am your soulmate, I hope I’m up to the task.” Jason smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead.

“Babe, you’re the only one for me. Being with me isn’t always going to be pretty or even easy, but I promise to do the best that I can to make sure you’re happy. That’s why I wanted to get to know you. You deserve to be treated like royalty, and I don’t want to mess that up by having sex with you so soon. I need to know everything about you; your favorite things, your friends, your deepest, darkest secrets, everything. I don’t want to screw things up between us.” Stephanie blushed fiercely.

“Jason, you’re making me blush.” She looked away from the fond smile on his face. “No one’s ever said anything like that to me before. None of the kids at school showed much interest in me. Even Aaron didn’t,” she paused and her expression fell. Jason had to fight a flash of jealousy. He took a deep breath and squeezed her arm. 

“He asked little things about myself of course. But not like you did just now.” She bit her lower lip and breathed heavily. “He was a good man, and yes we were stupid to have sex so young, but I was in love with him. I still miss him, even to this day. Some days, it just hurts more than others.” She stopped and looked at Jason. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean…”

She tapered off and looked down at the floor. She began to wring her hands in agitation. Jason turned around and picked up his shirt and jacket. He redressed, taking his time to collect his thoughts. He turned around to see a single tear fall down Stephanie’s face. He wanted to punch himself for causing it. He gently touched her arm and guided her to the door. He took a deep breath and began to speak.

“It’s always hard to speak about a lost loved one, especially if they were your first love. I understand better than you think. The first girlfriend I had was a hellion who liked my smoking habit.” He stopped when Stephanie flinched. “She and I parted ways amicably a few months after we started going out. She was the first I made love to that wasn’t a demanding asshole. You and Aaron went out for over a year and then you had his child. He died suddenly and you didn’t get closure for his death.

“I understand how hard that must have been for you, and I’m sorry I caused you any pain. I know you can never fall ‘out of love’ with someone you truly cared about. If you need to talk about something he did or didn’t do, just tell me. I can’t promise I won’t get jealous, but I won’t be an asshole about it, alright?” He closed the doors behind them, deciding to shut off the lights later. He held his arm out to Stephanie, waiting as she hesitantly wrapped her arm around his.

He led her down the hallway and up the stairs. He stopped a short distance away from her bedroom and turned to her.

“I want things to work out between us Steph. I want to learn everything there is to know about you. So, if you’ll let me, I’d like to take you out on a date. I know you still miss Aaron, and I don’t want to push you. You can give me your answer in the morning, alright? I don’t want to mess things up between us, so I want you to think about where you want me to take you for our first date, if you decide you want to.” He looked down at her hands when they gripped his shirt.

“Thank you for being so calm and patient with me Jason. I’m sorry about the way I acted earlier. I do want to be with you, I want you to know that. I still love Aaron, but I don’t want you to think I don’t love you as well. I feel at ease around you, well all of you, but you most of all. I never would have thrown myself at Aaron like that, that was all me. It’ll take a long time before I can stop thinking about Aaron.” She looked Jason in the eyes.

“I would love to go out with you, but Jason, we’ve already had a first date.” Jason looked at her curiously, raising an eyebrow at her. “In fact, I believe we’ve had two already.” He gaped at her, causing her to giggle.

“You’ve lost me babe. When did we have one date, let alone two?” Stephanie chuckled at his question.

“Well, the first date was when we went down by the duck pond yesterday. And the second was when we danced in the ballroom tonight.” She smiled at him, and he cursed his inability to fight his blush. “I prefer the simple things in life Jason. Aaron used to take me bowling, but he never took me dancing. And he definitely didn’t take me to the park, so I consider that our first date.” Jason grinned and shook his head at her.

“Are you sure you want to count those two as dates? I don’t mind, but I wanted to take you to a restaurant or café.” She shook her head vigorously. “Right, no public places until after Falcone is dealt with.” He paused to think a moment and began to smile. “How about this? Since you like simple things over fancy things, I’ve got an idea about tomorrow.”

“What do you have planned for tomorrow, Jay?” He shook his head, smug little smirk on his face.

“Can’t tell you, it’ll ruin the surprise.” Stephanie started to pout and Jason laughed. “Don’t worry babe, you’ll find out tomorrow.” He paused, grabbed her hands and squeezed them, before gently pulling her hands off his shirt. He nodded his head at her and turned to walk away. “Well, good night babe. Sweet dreams.” Stephanie grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“Before you leave, thank you once more for being so considerate with me Jason. I appreciate it more than you know. And thank you for understanding about Aaron. Some days it’s harder to accept than others. And I think it’s great of you to want me to still talk about him, even though it sets your teeth on edge. Thank you.” She squeezed her hand once. “Would it be alright to kiss me before you leave?”

Jason took a deep breath and turned to her.

“Are you sure babe? If it goes past one kiss, I can’t guarantee I can stop myself again.” Stephanie nodded once and Jason hesitantly moved toward her. He went to kiss her forehead, but Stephanie touched his face with both hands and slowly moved to get closer. She kissed him gently on the lips and stepped away. She gave him a small wave and headed into her room. Jason watched her leave and didn’t stop until she shut her door behind her. He sighed heavily and headed toward the study.

He traveled down to the cave and saw Jarvis at the radio. He cleared his throat to announce his presence and waited for Jarvis to notice him. Jarvis stood slowly.

“Master Jason, is everything alright?” Jason smiled and nodded his head. He scratched the back of his head.

“Everything’s alright Jarvis. It’s getting late though, and I don’t mind taking over for you.” Jarvis went to protest, but Jason decided to fess up. “Besides, Stephanie and I, kinda made out in the ballroom. And I thought it would give me something to do down here.” Jarvis’s expression quickly turned to disappointment. He nodded his head once and his expression shifted to one of understanding.

“Normally I would say I will be alright to continue. However, perhaps it will be better if you remove yourself from the temptation you are no doubt feeling. In that case, I will hand the reins over to you, Master Jason.” He paused a moment as a smile appeared. “I am very pleased you stopped yourself before it became, shall we say, ‘intense’. I believe is what Master Dick and Miss Barbara call it.” He bowed slightly to Jason, and walked toward the elevator.

“Thank you Jarvis. I don’t mind taking things from here.” Jarvis nodded once more.

“It’s been rather quiet tonight. There have only been two robberies, small time though they were. One mugging and Master Batman encountered a young couple getting, rather acquainted with each other. There appears to be nothing else of note happening, so it should be rather uneventful, in case you wish to speak to Master Dick?” Jarvis phrased it as a question, but Jason read the ‘suggestion’ hidden in the words. He nodded at Jarvis and Jarvis entered the elevator. The elevator started and Jason sat down at the desk. He took a deep breath, and reached out to Dick telepathically.

(“Dick, I really need to speak with you if you have a moment?”) He paused, thinking Dick was busy, but he got his answer quicker than he thought.

(“What is it, Jay? What do you need?”) Jason suppressed a small bubble of happiness Dick was worried about him. He had been away so long, he had forgotten how it felt to have family that cared.

(“You’re not busy, are you? This could take a while.”) He paused again, and swallowed his pride. (“I really need to speak with you.”) He sensed Dick’s concern, before he felt a ripple of communication, which meant Dick was talking to the others. His answer came back shortly after.

(“It’s really quiet tonight. Bruce says he doesn’t think he needs me, even though the quiet is worrying him. He’s sending me home, so I’m free for the rest of the night.”) There was a pause. (“It’s about you and Steph, right?”) Jason winced.

(“Yeah, it is. We were in the ballroom, because she wanted to dance with me. After we danced she kissed me, and I almost had my way with her. If she hadn’t unintentionally pushed her lust at me, I would have made the first move myself. I almost forced myself on her, and I…”) He trailed off, as he angrily wiped his eyes. He was so angry at himself, he just wanted to punch himself.

(“I’m on my way home now, little brother. Just take a deep breath, and tell me what happened.”) Dick replied in a calm voice. Jason found himself laughing slightly at Dick’s attempt to sound like Bruce. He took a deep breath, and told Dick what happened in the ballroom. He finished his story, just as Dick roared in on his motorcycle. Jason got up and headed towards the garage area. Dick had parked and cut off his motorcycle and removed his helmet. He looked up to see Jason heading towards him.

“You didn’t rape her, you know?” Jason bristled and his expression turned murderous. “Let me talk, please? I mean, I know how it feels, alright?” He moved towards Jason, slowly peeling the mask off of his face. “Before Babs was turned, I wanted her so bad, I almost forced myself on her. When I realized what had happened, I was horrified.” Dick paused when his words sunk with Jason.

He reached out, placing his hand on Jason’s shoulder. It was when Jason didn’t shrug it off, that Dick knew how upset he really was.

“I’ve been there before, remember? I know what it feels like to hate yourself for wanting to have sex with someone you love, but can’t due to one thing or another. I felt so guilty masturbating thinking about Babs as she cried out my name. And it got worse as time went on. It only got better after we came to an agreement. We spent as much time together as we could, and we cuddled and hugged, but it never crossed over to sex. The urge was still there, but it got less and less. After she was converted, then need to touch each other became stronger, but we were able to hold off because we were inside each other’s minds.”

“But, then again, we had had sex numerous times before. I know this is going to be hard for you Jay, but trust me, it will get better, I promise. Besides, you stopped when you realized you were feeling her lust. Babs and I didn’t have that to go on. That means you have the control to stop yourself. Even so, you wouldn’t have been able to rape her, as her soulmate you would have known that’s what you were doing and would have stopped.” Dick walked past Jason, letting him absorb that bit of information and headed to the changing room. Jason turned a minute later and followed him.

“I would have stopped before it became rape? Are you absolutely sure, Dick?” Jason stopped at the door and waited. He began tapping his foot. Dick was quiet a minute before he answered.

“Of course Jay. Soulmates don’t intentionally hurt each other in any way shape or form. That includes physically.” He paused to take a deep breath. “Especially when you’re the one who was raped as a kid. You know what that feels like and you definitely would have stopped before it got to that point.” Jason clenched his fits tightly and crossed his arms. Dick wasn’t trying to be cruel, he was only being honest, and so Jason took a deep breath and counted to ten.

“Are you absolutely sure, Dick? I mean, I still have my bloodlust as a vampire and as a side effect of the pit. What if that overrides my, my…” He bit his lip and trembled slightly. Dick had opened the door after he finished changing and swiftly wrapped his brother in a hug. Jason shuddered in his grip, and breathed shakily. Dick patted his back and rocked them a few times, before looking up at the taller man.

“Yes Jay, I’m absolutely sure you would have stopped if she changed her mind.” He quieted a few seconds before he grinned. “Anyway, when did you grow half a foot? The last time I hugged you, you were shorter than me.” It was meant to break Jason from his thoughts, not to make light of the situation. Besides, it was the first time since Jason had returned that he could ask. It worked as a means to calm Jason down, and he stifled a laugh.

“Hell if I know Dick. The last time I was aware of my height, I was five foot 7. Now I’m six foot even. Must have happened between Ethiopia and when Tabitha took me to the All-Caste. I do remember Ducra was mad I couldn’t fit into any of those robes. That’s when I realized I had grown.” Dick dramatically clutched his chest.

“Six foot? No, you are my ‘little’ brother. You weren’t supposed to grow to be taller than me.” Dick threw his other hand to his forehead. Jason laughed at the childish display. He sobered his thoughts when he thought about the previous conversation.

“Say Dick, how long did it take to track down that bastard?” Dick straightened and looked at Jason somewhat confused. Jason looked away. “The asshole who, you know.” Dick winced, realizing what Jason meant. 

“Jay, you weren’t supposed to know about that.” Jason shot him a look and Dick nodded. “After you almost went off on Jarvis when you woke up here, and you told us you had, well, you know. Bruce thought about your actions and realized someone had or had attempted to force themselves on you. So we started watching the streets around where you lived and talked to a few of the ladies, before we found him. Jackass was lucky we don’t kill, but we put the fear of god into him. He turned himself into the police and he was killed within a week of being in jail. Turns out, rape is the one thing even the hardest of murderers hate.” 

Jason gaped at Dick, and felt a swell of gratitude for his adoptive family. He gave Dick a side hug, which caught his older brother off guard. 

“So, in other words, you scared him, beat the shit out of him, drank his blood, got him arrested and he was killed in prison. I say the bastard got off easy. But at least he didn’t go after other kids.” He paused and grinned at Dick. “Thank you, big brother.” Dick rolled his eyes.

“Uh, Jason? You do realize you’re a part of the family, and we fight like hell to protect our own, right? So there was no way we were going to let that creep walk free. After that happened, there were a lot less attempts made on any of the ladies. We’re just sorry we couldn’t help you sooner.” Jason nodded.

“You, Bruce and Babs got a sicko off the streets and scared any would-be rapists from doing anything. I count that as a win for us.” Jason walked to the desk and sat in the chair. “I just don’t know what to do about Stephanie. I mean, she still loves Aaron, which is understandable. But it burns my ass to hear her mention him, even though it’s stupid. And I know she loves me, but it’s so frustrating. And then there’s the fact I can’t. Stop. Thinking. About. Her.”

Jason groaned in frustration, running his fingers through his hair roughly. Dick walked over to him and patted his back in sympathy. 

“Even now, I’m getting hard just remembering it, and I just.” Dick cut him off.

“Then don’t think about making out. Think about other things.” Jason looked at Dick and shot him an incredulous look. “You’re hung up on the idea of sex with Stephanie. So don’t think about the sex, think about other things you like about her. Like, what about her do you like and why?” Jason blinked once and set back in the seat.

“I like her hair. It’s a pretty shade of blonde, and it’s full of loose curls. It’s really soft and makes me want to run my fingers through it.” He trailed off and glared at Dick. Dick responded by waving impatiently for him to continue. “Her eyes are pretty too, with flecks of violet in them. When she grins, she has a little dimple on the right cheek.

“Her laugh is kinda cute too, though she gets embarrassed when she accidently snorts. And when she blushes, it ranges from a light dusting of pink to a full blown bright red. I like that she doesn’t have pierced ears, though I’m not sure quite why. She bites her nails when she thinks no one’s looking. She chews on her fingers when she reads. She likes the simple things, and considers walking to the duck pond as our ‘first date’.” Dick’s eyes lit up at that.

“Aww, did you ask her if she wanted to go out on a date with you? Jason’s that’s so sweet.” He dodged Jason’s half-hearted punch to the hip. “See Jason, this means you and her are meant to be. You won’t do or say anything bad to her at all. You can’t. That’s love Jason, you’re genuinely falling in love with her. Just remember that.”

Dick started to walk away from Jason. He turned to face him one last time, smile on his face. “If it gets hard to stop thinking about what happened, just think about why you love her so much. And in case that doesn’t work, well, you might feel guilty later, but masturbation does help.” Dick shrugged apologetically. “The showers have really hot water. Be careful not to get carpal tunnel.” He turned and ran as Jason threw one of his boots. Jason huffed in irritation and waited for the others to return home.

It was in the early morning hours that Jason finally went to sleep.

 

(He felt someone under him, breathing heavily. He opened his eyes and saw Stephanie laying there, looking up at him. She smiled lovingly at him. He felt his hear swell at the trust he saw in her eyes. He lifted himself up on his arms and saw they both were naked. He wanted to leave, afraid he was pushing her too fast. She lifted her hand to his face and softly spoke to him.

“If you want this, you’re not pushing me. If you want to leave, I don’t want you to feel that you have to stay. If this is making you uncomfortable, I want you to leave.” She looked sad, but determined. He swallowed once, trying to calm his breathing.

“I want this. I don’t want to force you. Are you sure you want this? I won’t stop this time.” He had to ask to be certain. He felt the blood rushing to his dick. She nodded once and leaned up to kiss him. That was all it took to lose his control. He moved his hands over her body. He held her breasts, stroking his thumbs over her nipples.

She began to writhe under him, touching his chest. He ground into her, just barely touching her with his erection. She moaned and clenched her fingers, causing scratches to form on him. She slid one hand down to his dick and slowly gripped him. His breath caught in his throat and he began teasing a nipple with his teeth. She squirmed once more and adjusted her grip. She began moving her hand up and down, picking up the pace as she slid her thumb across the crown of his penis. He hissed slowly and tried to bite back a moan.

Growing encouraged, she began pumping faster, gripping him a little tighter. Jason had to fight back the urge to pull her hand off and easing into her. He groaned in pleasure and Stephanie smirked at him. He glanced at her and slowly trailed the fingers of one hand down her torso to the curls protecting her womanhood. She shuddered at his touch, and her eyes dilated. He smirked back at her and moved her thighs further apart. She caught his intention and bent her knees to allow him better access. She kept one hand on his penis, so he used his finger to trace around her entrance.

She gripped his arm with her other hand so tightly, she left marks. He teased her with his finger, before slipping inside her. She moaned loudly, before biting her lip. He kissed her lips, sliding his tongue into her mouth the same time he crooked his finger at just the right spot. She bucked her hips and moaned into his mouth, breaking the kiss to draw in a ragged breath. He began moving in and out with one finger, and then two. She let go of his arm and covered her mouth with her hand. He began to spread his fingers in a scissoring movement.

She had trouble breathing through the sensations. She realized she still had his penis in her hand and began tracing her nails under the length of him. He moaned, losing the rhythm he had started. She moved her fingers back and forth, scraping just hard enough to cause sensation. Jason looked at her hungrily and she settled once more. She moved her hand to cup his balls, scraping them for good measure. Jason through his head back moaning. He shifted his stance, and began moving three fingers inside her. 

She bit her hand to stifle her moan. The look in his eyes was full of lust, but there was also trust. He trusted her to know what to do. She moved her hand back to his penis, adjusting her grip once more and began pumping faster. He responded by scissoring three fingers, and brushing over her clitoris. She bucked harder and was unable to contain her scream. Jason smiled at her predatorily, and began rubbing her much more vigorously. She was grateful she was so wet, or else this would have hurt. 

She pumped him harder in time with his fingers. She was quickly reaching orgasm, and almost missed when he twitched in her hand. She climaxed, trying desperately not to scream, unaware she was pumping him harder. He growled as a warning to her, and fell to the side as he ejaculated. They both had a hard time catching their breaths. He turned to look at her and gently pulled her head to his. He kissed her sloppily, and started to speak…)

Stephanie woke up, gasping for air. She clutched her bedsheets, and looked at the ceiling. It took a few minutes, before she calmed down enough to realize she had just had the most erotic wet dream of her life. She shifted and felt the wetness between her legs and blushed madly. She looked at the clock on the night stand and saw it said 5:56. She sighed and sat up in bed. She pushed the blankets back and stood up shakily. She took a few steps towards the wardrobe.

She picked out her clothes for the day, found a matching pair of flats, and hastily grabbed a pair of underclothes. She made her way to the door, opened it to look around the hallway. She felt embarrassed, but looked around in case she had accidently awakened any of the others. When she saw and heard no one else, she darted to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and turned the water on as hot as she could.

She was unaware she wasn’t the only one awakened from the dream. Jason shot up in his bed, gasping deeply for air. He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. Once he had slowed his heartrate, he realized how fast his heart had been beating. It was much faster than it should have due to their vampiric nature. He cursed the sexual nature of vampires, chuckling darkly. He looked down and saw the drying white stains on the sheets. ‘Fuck,’ he thought to himself, ‘I just had psychic sex with Steph.’

According to Dick, Babs and Tabitha, sharing psychic dreams came from a deep level of trust between soulmates. Psychic sex was much more deeper level of trust. It was possible for any of them to pick up on distress from any of the others if it bled into the dreams. But that was emotions, colors, sounds at best. Only soul mates could share memories, and physical intimacy. In fact, the only way Dick had been able to have intercourse with Babs was through their dreams. But that was months after Dick had been converted. He and Steph had only known each other a few days.

And she already trusted him that much. He clenched his fists, feeling humbled by her high opinion of him. He felt a small tear hit the back of his hand, and he rubbed his eyes. He slowly got up, still feeling the after effects of the dream. He cursed the vampires heightened sensitivity when it came to touch. He took another deep breath and began stripping the sheets. Jarvis wasn’t going to be happy about this. And he mentally began to prepare for the scolding he knew he was going to get.

A short while later, Jason emerged from the nearest bathroom. Towel drying his hair, he didn’t notice Bruce walking towards him, until he was a short distance from him. Jason looked up to see Bruce giving him a rather disappointed look. Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Let me guess B, you’re upset I had dream sex with Steph. Well guess what? I don’t care how upset you are, I enjoyed it. A lot as a matter of fact. And there’s nothing you can do to make me feel guilty about it, old man.” Jason gripped his towel, pulling it across his neck, and pulled on the ends. Bruce looked at Jason and started to glare.

“I’m very much aware you enjoyed your ‘dream sex’ with Stephanie. And to be perfectly honest, “ at this, his face relaxed into a small smile, “I’m glad. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen you since you came back. I’m only disappointed because you did too good of a job pleasing her.” Bruce shifted his stance, and smirked at Jason, causing Jason to instantly be on alert. “I’m only disappointed that you made her feel so good. You were the one to tell me she was able to push her own emotions on people when she was feeling an extreme emotion. Now tell me, why am I upset at you?”

Bruce’s smirk grew as Jason figured it out. Once it clicked, his face turned a fierce shade of red. Bruce walked around him.

“Now you’ve got it. I’m glad the two of you are so close, but next time that happens, please try to be a bit quieter.” Jason’s face grew even redder. “If it hadn’t been for her very loud screams of ecstasy, it was her raw lust that woke everyone up.” Bruce turned back to Jason, watching as Jason looked at him with a mixture of apprehension, horror and shock. “Word of warning; Jarvis is pissed at you this morning. You might get your favorite for breakfast, you might get oatmeal. I honestly don’t know which it’ll be this morning. Especially since he sees her as a granddaughter.”

Bruce turned and continued on his way to the dining room. Jason whimpered once before he headed back to his room. They were never going to let him live this down. He made his way down the stairs and ran into Dick. When he saw Jason, he began grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Jason groaned and tried to walk past him. Dick grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction of the library, where Barbara was already sitting. Jason sighed and walked in, shoulders slumped in defeat.

They didn’t finish teasing him for a good hour, at which point Stephanie was descending the stairs. He saw her walk to the dining room and waited a few moments before he followed. Dick and Babs walking in just after. Jason looked at Stephanie and waved good morning, like nothing had happened. Stephanie waved back then started blushing madly and turned her head. Jarvis brought out breakfast after everyone was seated and brought waffles and fruit. Except for Jason, who received oatmeal, and a look telling him how much trouble he was in. Jason looked at his bland oatmeal and cringed.

Jason looked up in time to see Jarvis glaring holes in his head. If looks could kill, Jason would have been dead in seconds. Stephanie was caught up in conversation with Bruce and didn’t notice the situation she and Jason were in. She did notice Jarvis seemed a bit angry about something, but was distracted by Dick and Babs. Soon it was time for Bruce and Stephanie to leave and Jason kissed Stephanie on the cheek, telling her he’d see her later. He winked at her mischievously and waved to her and Bruce. They made it to work as usual, and everything went as normal. At ten minutes til 12:00, Jason walked in.

Stephanie was surprised to see him, and almost called him Jason. At the last second she remembered to call him Pete. ‘Andrew’s’ meeting was finishing, and Bruce saw Jason. Everyone left the office except Bruce, who watched curiously. His question was answered when Jason walked to the door and brought a wicker basket back in.

“Hey babe, how are you doing? I hope you’re free for lunch?” Stephanie looked at the basket then to Jason, and it clicked.

“’Pete’, did you bring a picnic lunch?” He nodded excitedly, and she couldn’t hide her grin. She looked at Bruce, only to see him close the door of his office. She turned back to Jason. “I usually eat in the breakroom, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea now. So I guess we can eat here.” She motioned to her desk. Jason nodded.

“Sounds like a plan to me. I know you brought your own lunch, so I brought a few other things. Once things have gotten sorted out, we can eat lunch in the park. This will have to do for now.” Stephanie moved her files and paperwork to one side, before Jason placed a checkered blanket one the other end. Steph laughed and grabbed her lunch. They placed their food on the blanket, and began eating. They chatted about little things, and Stephanie was touched by Jason’s sweet gesture.

A few minutes before it the lunch break was over, ‘Andrew’ stepped out of his office. He took one look at the couple and chuckled.

“Alright Pete, I know you don’t want to, but it’s time to leave. You’ll be able to see Stephanie at home.” His voice had a fatherly quality to it, and Jason snickered.

“But dad, I wanted to spend time with my lady friend. Is there anything wrong with that?” ‘Pete’ pouted at Andrew. Stephanie almost choked on her drink at the phrase ‘lady friend’. It made their relationship seem more official. Andrew shook his head at Pete’s antics. 

“I’m sorry son, you know we have to get back to work. Besides, how did you get Jarvis to help you make the basket?” It was a loaded question, and he knew it. Stephanie blinked at Jason’s stiff posture. He relaxed a little as he packed up the dishes.

“Simple, I explained that I wanted to spend some time with my lovely lady, but didn’t want to interrupt her work. So I asked if he could help me make this surprise lunch. He agreed that it was a thoughtful surprise and he told me what I needed to do to help make it ready.” He waited for Stephanie to look away, and flicked his hand under his chin at Andrew. Andrew laughed while Pete and Stephanie refolded the blanket. He packed it away, and went to leave. Before he left, he grabbed Stephanie’s hand and brushed a kiss onto her knuckles. Andrew cleared his throat and raised his arms open.

Stephanie tried to hide her grin as Pete walked to his dad and hugged him. He whispered as quietly as he could.

“Make no mistake Bruce, I will get you back for that.” With one tight squeeze, Andrew replied.

“You can certainly try, son. You can certainly try.” The parted and Pete grabbed the basket, waving good bye as he left. The rest of the day went by smoothly, and so did the ride home. Jason opened Steph’s door and helped her out of the car. He walked her inside and led her to the library, where she had retreated to everyday for most of the week. He went back upstairs, promising to be back shortly. She went to finish reading her book, before hearing someone calling her name from upstairs.

She went up and headed to the study, thinking whoever called for her was in there. As she walked to the door, she realized Bruce and Jason were talking about her. She quieted down and listened in.

“Bruce, she deserves to know. Look I understand, I swear I do. But I think she needs to be told.” Bruce swished his hand in the air to stop Jason in his tracks.

“Jason, I’m not saying she doesn’t need to know, I’m just concerned about how she’ll react. It’s Friday evening, what if by telling her, it causes Barbara’s vision to come true. For all we know, not telling her might be what saves her life.” She heard Jason growl and something heavy slammed onto something wood.

“Bullshit, you just don’t want to tell her. You’re notorious for keeping things like this to yourself, and not telling the rest of us. If you don’t tell her, I sure as hell will. I think she deserves to know, and I can’t lie to her. So decide now; either you or me. One of us is going to tell her that her father is still alive and has gotten tangled up with werewolves.” Stephanie gasped in shock. Fortunately neither man heard her, so she covered her mouth and continued to listen.

“Jason, please, I know you want to tell her, goodness knows you can’t lie to her about this. I just don’t think she should be told tonight. It’s the night before a new moon, and the werewolves will be committing more crimes due to their scents being almost entirely human. I’m only saying we should wait until tomorrow or Sunday. We need to go out and find Black Mask’s goons and get one of them to talk. All we need is one to rat out Falcone, and we can get him put away. After that, then we can tell her that Arthur is a werewolf.” Jason groaned again.

“You are something else, you know that right? Fine, but you’re going to have to explain to her how we found out her dad’s a were. That he’s been stalking the fence line, trying to find her. You get to be the one to tell her, the shadow she saw Saturday was an altered image of her dad.” Stephanie froze. What did they mean the shadow she saw Saturday? And a werewolf. An idea occurred to her, and she quietly hurried to her room. 

She grabbed the second, smaller suitcase she hadn’t unpacked and removed the eggplant colored costume. She was almost finished changing when she felt a heavy sense of dread settle in the pit of her stomach. She hurried to finish changing and searched for any sign of the others. She darted down the stairs, still looking for the others. She made it to the garage without being noticed, and saw the fence line around the property looked newer for some reason. She opened the gate and drove her car out on to the roadway. As she drove through the gate, she realized why she had sensed the over whelming worry; the protective barrier on fence and gate was no longer there. She got out long enough to shut and lock the gate behind her.

She took off down the road back to Gotham, unaware she was being watched. Back at the manor, Bruce felt a sense of panic grip his heart. Jason and Babs, who had come in after Stephanie went to her room, looked at Bruce in concern. He looked at them and gasped in fear.

“The barrier is gone. I can’t sense it anymore.” Jason stiffened and ran out of the room to the library. He looked around and couldn’t find Steph. He ran back up the stairs, almost knocking down Dick. He ran to Stephanie’s room, only to find the door open and her work clothes tossed on the floor. All that was left that seemed out of place, was a single small piece of eggplant colored cloth. He began to breath heavily and turned to Dick and the others.

“Is Steph’s car still here? Because she’s not.” Dick froze and Babs gasped. Bruce darted to the window at the far of the hall that overlooked the garage. He didn’t see her Packard, but he did see fresh tired tracks. Stephanie had left the property, and had done so just as the barrier had disappeared. But why had she left? She must have over heard Jason and himself arguing earlier.

In which case, she must have left to find her father. Bruce squared his shoulders and turned to everyone.

“Get Jarvis and have him meet us in the cave. She left to find her father, so we need to change and leave now.” Jason tensed, looking horror struck. “You get to say ‘I told you so’ after all Jason. My inability to trust her may have just cost her her human life. We need to find her before it’s too late.”


	14. Chapter 13: Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, a lot of people liked the last chapter, even though it got very graphic. There won’t be any sex scenes in this chapter, but if there are in future chapters, you will be warned. Things are going to get bad after this, but that means it will get better later on. Thank you for hanging in there, so please buckle up because it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Also, there is some cursing in this chapter, most of it from Stephanie. She’s in a rough spot, so I think she’s entitled to it. I know I said there isn’t going to be any other female superheroes in this story, but Zatanna does appear in a few chapters here.
> 
> (Please overlook Bruce not being able to make the werewolves talk, one of my favorite scenes from YJ is of Zatanna getting information about Marrow’s location. It’s awesome and funny, and I had to put something like it in this story. It is by no means an attempt at plagiarism; I didn’t mean to do that. I just liked the scene. Rex is Roman’s father in this story, and Zatanna is the only appearing female superhero from outside of the ‘Bat-fam. Thank you for reading my boring AN’s.)
> 
> Final note, this will be where the story starts to get more violent. This chapter contains a murder in cold blood and some description of violence, but the next chapter will contain depictions of torture, so this will be the last chapter of mostly calm. If you don’t want to read the depiction of violence, please stop reading at the page break. Thank you for your time and patience.
> 
> As always, I would like to give a big, warm thank you to Wolfsrudeltaktik, kitten4979, Addie_Lover_of_Stories, Blueangle97, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, SamTheKingOfHell, Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 26 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank Nethra, RedLippedAngel, xiaotianshi, mtsukai, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx, SamTheKingOfHell, TheJokerQueen13 & Addie_Lover_of_Stories for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. It makes me feel so happy, and I hope you can forgive my long update times. Please bear with me and thank you all so very much for sticking with me, I hope I don’t disappoint anyone.
> 
> (P.S. if you have a question about something, like an aspect of the curse, what’s up with a certain character, etc. please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. I’ll gladly tell you what I can. Thanks again ;P) P.P.S. I won’t stop posting my thanks to everyone I just mentioned, as I feel I owe all of you a big amount of gratitude, and if it weren’t for you, this fic wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has. Thank you again.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 13: Confrontations

It didn’t take Stephanie long to realize she had no idea where to start looking for her dad. She knew he had a few friends in town, but after faking his death, she doubted he would try to hide with one of them. She parked her car in a hidden area near the park; the only area she knew would be patrolled by the police. She took a deep breath, and decided to take a chance check out a nearby jewelry store. She darted down the nearest road and climbed the nearest fire escape. She climbed to the roof and headed in the direction of the store. She paused when she saw a shadow on one of the rooftops close to her, thinking Jason or one of the others had found her already. The shadow straightened before she had a chance to hide, and she saw a head of blonde hair.

She hid quickly, and peeked in the direction of the figure and saw it move in a different direction. She bit her lip behind her mask, trying desperately to calm herself down. She saw the figure turn and her blood turned to ice. She’d recognize that ugly orange and blue get-up anywhere; she had found Arthur Brown. She took a deep breath and fought down a wave of panic. Something wasn’t right with this situation; it had been way too easy for her to find him. Still, she shook her head to clear the paranoia and waited long enough for her father to turn around. She darted around to another hiding spot and watched him head in the direction of a building that had been condemned.

She took another breath, and quickly followed her father. He jumped from the fire escape across the street from the building in question just as she caught up to him. She watched him as he ran to the entrance of the building, looking around for someone or something. He looked to the rooftop he had just come from and Steph swore he saw her hiding spot. He turned and ran around the side of the building, almost like he was trying to bait her into following him. She paused to consider this was a trap, but before she could turn around to flee, she heard a scream. She looked again and saw her father had a man at gunpoint. She flinched when she heard him call out to her.

“I know you’re there, Spoiler. How ‘bout you come down here so we can talk face-to-face? Or are you too scared of me?” He pushed the barrel of the gun closer to the man’s temple. “I’ll shot his damn brains out, I swear to God, I will.” Stephanie stood up, squared her shoulders and made her way down the fire escape.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t get stoop any lower. You used to have some morals, but now you’re nothing more than a common criminal. And to think, I expected better from you, Cluemaster. What happened to that clever mind of yours? Did the pen cause you to lose it? Or did you sell it so you could make a bigger score?” She jumped to the ground. “I guess I shouldn’t have held such high expectations of an asshole like yourself.”

She heard the hostage laugh at that, and saw her dad jerk him a bit. 

“Shut up, moron. I’m the one in control here.” Cluemaster turned back to Spoiler and pointed the gun at her. “You got a big mouth on you, for a brat, little girl.” He paused a moment, before replying smugly. “Guess that’s what happens when you become Red Hood’s bitch.” Spoiler flinched. “Yeah, I followed you out to the old abandoned manor, and imagine my shock to find you there playing house with the Hood.” Spoiler walked towards Cluemaster.

“I’m here, so just let the guy go. Then we can settle this where no one can see me whip your ass.” The guy laughed again.

“Ha ha, she told you.” Arthur growled and cocked the hammer.

“Fine, you’re right, I don’t need him anymore.” He released his hostage and let the man go. Spoiler waited until he had left to speak again.

“Wow, I’m honestly surprised you let him go instead of killing him. I guess you have some morals left after all. Almost makes me not want to take you down.” Cluemaster started laughing at her.

“Little girl, who the hell do you think taught you how to fight? I know all of your moves.” Spoiler shifted into a stance and smirked behind her mask.

“Mr. Hamilton.” She replied confidently. Cluemasters shoulders dropped slightly and he growled again. “Besides, how’d you know about Hood?” She almost slapped her face as soon as she realized what she had asked. But for some reason, she was very worried about her father knowing about Jason. It was her father’s turn to smirk behind his mask.

“How do you think the fuel pump went out? I was the one who messed it up. I just didn’t think it would take you all the way to the edge of the city. I was sure it would have stalled in the city and we’d have had you sooner.” A chill ran up Spoiler’s back and suddenly she became aware of one fact; she had just stumbled into a trap. Before she could turn and run, she felt something heavy collide with her head. As she fell to the ground, she saw her vision go black, and knew no more.

In the meantime, Bruce and the others had changed and gathered in the cave to quickly hash out a plan. Jason was pacing the length of the cave’s main operations room. Bruce had a map rolled out on the table and was quickly pointing out several places Cluemaster had been seen. Barbara chimed in.

“Don’t forget, he’s a werewolf now, and since he’s in deep to Falcone, he might be working with one of his flunkies.” Bruce nodded and pointed to the smaller territories that the werewolf clans were known to inhabit. 

“The only werewolf clan we know of to work with or for Falcone, is headed by Black Mask. Rex Sionis is an absolute asshole, delighting in flaunting his wealth, while getting a pass for his kidnapping and extortion of the police. Half of the force is under his thumb. Unfortunately for us, he’s got a legitimate business that he runs clean. Janus Cosmetics is the only good thing to come from Rex, and it’s the only thing keeping him from being arrested, though that might be because of his connections with Falcone. I was going over Arthur Brown’s known associates and came across one of Mask’s men. They met less than a week before Arthur staged his death. Barbara spoke up.

“According to Jim, the official report found the explosion and fire that killed Stephanie’s mother and eleven others to have been set up. The case was closed after discovering it was rigged by a ‘Hanson Trudou’. The name was investigated and it was revealed to be an alias for one of Sionis’ men. He was found dead in his house, less than a day later. His throat had been ripped out just like Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Moore. All leads ended there, so the case was declared closed. That was in August, less than a year ago.” Bruce nodded.

“Your nephew is very intelligent for only being on the force two years. It’s a good thing he knows about us being vampires, or else we would have a hard time staying up to date on these cases.” He paused to look up at Jason. “I promise you Jason, I will see to it that Stephanie is taken care of. I made a massive mistake and I will make certain to rectify the situation. Even if it kills me.” Everyone gasped at Bruce’s declaration. Jason was the first to speak up.

“Well, we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it.” He paused in his pacing and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Besides, when we find her, she’ll need you to be alive, old man.” He turned away. “You screwed up and you’re owning up to it. Don’t go looking for death, just make sure you can keep her alive long enough to make it up to her.” Dick smiled and looked at Bruce.

“Jay’s right Bruce. You did mess up, but we have the chance to make things right. So we need to focus on finding her and bringing her back alive and in one piece. So, we need to find the last place Arthur Brown was spotted. If he’s not working with Sionis, we need to find out which werewolf clan he is working with. It would be a bad idea to assume he’s working with Sionis, just because he’s a were.” Bruce shot Dick a glare.

“I know it would be a bad idea to assume, Dick, remember I taught you that. Never the less, we can narrow down the search to two places. The last confirmed sightings of Arthur Brown or ‘Cluemaster’ were in the junkyard on the outskirts of town, and an old condemned building near the old theatre district.” Jason walked over to the table and stopped next to Jarvis.

“I know the junkyard area, it next to the old sewage treatment plant, just a short walk from my territory.” He clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles popped. “That damn close and I never knew it.” Jarvis placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder.

“You didn’t know, Master Jason. He never crossed into your territory, so he never showed up on your radar. But now that you do know, do you think he would be there now?” Jason looked at Jarvis then looked at the others. The stood there watching him with their fullest attention. Jason felt his face heat up, but swallowed his embarrassment with a cough.

“To be honest, there have been more vampires spotted there lately, so I don’t think he’d be there. As for the condemned building, ‘Kipper’s Bar’, that is located in a rather out of the way place. No vamps, hunters, witches or anything of the sort.” He paused to look at everyone present. “If I had to lay money on one of the two places, I say ‘Kipper’s’, without a doubt.” Everyone nodded and stood straight. Bruce lifted his cowl.

“Kipper’s it is. Jarvis, I hate to do it, but we’re going to need you here on standby.” Jarvis nodded his head once and squared his shoulders.

“Of course, Master Bruce.” Bruce looked at the others to see Babs pulling her own cowl up and Jason and Dick securing their masks.

“Everyone, let’s go.” They wasted no time mounting their motorcycles, while Bruce climbed into the Batmobile. They drove off together, and wasted no time getting to Kipper’s. They stopped three blocks away, and grappled up to the roof of the nearest building. They made their way towards the building, spreading out to surround the perimeter. Bruce was trying to figure out how to enter without needing to be invited, when he spotted a figure in orange and blue. Said figure entered the back entrance, leaving the door ajar.

Before he could proceed, there was a commotion inside. Someone ran outside and called out to Batman.

“It’s about time you got here, Bat. We’ve been waiting on you and you’re bunch. Got a friend of yours here, goes by the name ‘Spoiler’?” Batman saw Red Hood jump down and stop towards the building. Batman jumped down as well, and blocked Hoods arrival with his arm. “Ah yes, Cluemaster said she was your bitch, Hood. Ain’t that quaint? Well, come on in everyone.”

Nightwing and Batgirl arrived next, pausing before they spoke.

(“B, something about this reeks of a set up. There’s no way they’d know we were coming and invite us in.”) Nightwing replied. Batgirl nodded once.

(“He’s right, everything here screams trap. What if Spoiler isn’t here? What if she left already? We need to be very careful.”) Hood grunted and brushed past the others.

(“While I understand caution, I say screw it. This is my soulmate we’re talking about. For all we know they’ve already beat her half to death. I’m going in, so if you three want to wait out here, fine by me.”) Batman sighed quietly.

(“Jason, we’re all going in, just be cautious alright? We go in together, as a group. Just be very careful. We don’t know how many are in there.”) Batman tensed up and followed Hood inside. They were lead inside to a back storage room. The door slammed shut behind Nightwing and Batgirl, causing everyone tense further. The door to the storage room was opened and they saw Spoiler struggling against Cluemaster. 

All at once, Hood charged in, not noticing the metal shining on the floor. The others made to follow him, but stopped when he cried out in pain. Spoiler lunged towards them, but was held back. Her mask had been removed to show her face. She cried out around the gag in her mouth as she saw Hood clutch his chest. The others followed seconds later, as Batgirl cried out.

“Iron. They had the floor covered in iron shavings.” Suddenly seven goons appeared from the shadows. The one who lead them in, joined his fellows and they began to circle the trapped quartet. Cluemaster laughed.

“So they figured it out, but too late to matter. Though I’m surprised Hood inhaled any, since he’s got the obnoxious helmet on. Guess even he needs to breath every now and then.” He laughed again as he pulled his daughter closer. “This is what happens when you hang with the wrong crowd, kiddo. They’re breathing in iron shavings and dust. It’s eating up their lungs. You should have stayed far away from them.

“I thought you were smarter than that. But then again, this isn’t the first time you’ve disappointed me.” Jason lifted his head and glared at Cluemaster. “Look at what you’ve done. Because of you and your uselessness, they’re going to die. How sad, if only you hadn’t bothered them, they might have gone on to live longer lives. Shame really.” Stephanie stopped struggling and looked at the ground in heartbreak.

Batman growled at Cluemaster.

“Don’t listen to him Spoiler,” he wheezed, trying to catch his breath, “You’re worth more to us than you’ll ever know.” Cluemaster laughed again. He motioned for the others to move in closer.

“Doesn’t matter anyway, Bat. You’re still gonna die soon.” He jerked Steph’s arm and half dragged her out the door. “The boss says to have as much fun as you want, boys. Just leave the Bat for last. So he can watch his brood die before his eyes.” And with that, he left. He pulled Stephanie into the back of a waiting van. 

He pushed her in and pulled the door shut behind him. He hit the side of the van twice and the van took off. He looked at his daughter, still half out of it from where she had been knocked out. He shook his head in disappointment.

“It’s not enough you shacked up with that punk Aaron, now you’re hooking up with the Red Hood. I hope you’re fucking satisfied with your life. Unbelievable.” She glared at him, and watched his every move. He reached out and pulled her gag out of her mouth. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself, slut?” She spit right in his eye.

“You’ve got no right to talk, dipshit. You only cared about me when it was convenient. And it’s because of you and your dumbass ideas Aaron died. So fuck you, and your colorblind outfit too. As for being a slut, you have to have lots of sex, I haven’t. Not that you’d know. You were off stealing and living large as Cluemaster. I’ve never been more disappointed to have you as a dad until now.”

Cluemaster looked at her after wiping his eye. He looked as if he had been smacked at her last sentence. She sneered at him.

“I hope it was worth it to kill your wife, leaving your own daughter behind with a huge fucking debt. I really hope it was worth it selling your soul to werewolves, you moron. How much are you getting paid to sell out your own kin?” Cluemaster flinched again. “Whatever the cost, the price you paid was too high, I hope you know that.” She stopped talking and looked away from him. “I wish I wasn’t your daughter.” She was silent the rest of the trip.

After Arthur left, the werewolves began circling Batman and the others, grinning widely as they pulled knives and guns from hidden pockets. They sprang to attack, only to be repealed as a voice rang out.

“Dleihs meht mrof eht kcatta!” A moment later, two shadows appeared in the doorway. The taller one, raised an arm and spoke again. “Egnahc sehtolc otni sgnidnib! Gag meht!” He paused to look at the quartet as the werewolves were tied up and gagged. “Raelc eht ria fo nroi!” All traces of iron disappeared as if they had never been there.  
The four heroes collapsed and gasped deeply for air. Batman was the first to recover.

“Zatara, it’s good to see you, old friend. Now more than ever.” The man, Zatara, laughed and extended a hand to help Batman up.

“Of course, my friend. To be honest, Tabitha contacted me, telling me she had been delayed arriving here. She told me you would need some help and asked if my daughter and I could help. After all of the times you’ve helped me, I couldn’t say no.” Batman awkwardly hugged the man in thanks and turned to where the teenage girl was helping the others stand up.

“We’re going to need blood, preferably human. Then we have to find the young woman who was taken. It’s highly important we find her quickly.” Zatara nodded his understanding. Father and daughter lead the group back outside and watched from a distance as the vampiric group found their criminal prey and drank their blood. They left them in a daze, tied up for the police to find. They returned to the abandoned building and started searching the outside for the whereabouts of the van.

They were only able to follow a few blocks before losing the tire tracks. Batgirl and Nightwing separated from Batman and Red hood, trying to find any trace of where the van could have been going. Batman and Hood stayed behind to interrogate the werewolves. None of them would answer, until Zatara got an idea.

“I don’t want my daughter to get any more involved in this, but there is one spell she is quite good at. Should she try it?” Hood nodded his head sharply.

“Of course we think you should let her.” Batman dropped his hand heavily on a shoulder. He took a deep breath, and replied more calmly. “Vampires can’t force werewolves to answer questions, but we can remove memories from them. If she can successfully get information from them, we will make them forget about her.” He paused again when he saw Zatara’s harsh expression. “Please let her question them on where they took Spoiler. She’s my soulmate, I need her to be alright.”

Zatara’s expression, softened into surprise and understanding. He nodded once and waved his daughter over.

“Zatanna, I know I don’t normally encourage this, but I need you to interrogate these men. Even just one of them will do. It’s of the utmost importance that we find the young woman.” The girl, Zatanna startled. She looked her father in the eye and agreed. She headed to the one who lead the four inside to begin with.

“I’m only going to ask this one time; where did you take the girl?” She pulled his gag away and he laughed loudly. The others watched, snickering behind their gags.

“Look, Toots. I ain’t telling you nuthin. Our boss’ll skin us alive if we even think about snitching. And that’s if we do know something. Unfortunately, I don’t know nuthin. So you’re just gonna have to find the answers the old fashioned way.” Zatanna looked at her father, who nodded again.

“If you don’t know where she was taken, tell me who does?” He laughed again, throwing his head back.

“I told you I ain’t talking. So stop wasting your breath. I ain’t gonna talk, and there’s nothing you can do to make me talk.” He leered at her. She heaved a sigh, looked at her father again then spoke.

“Llet em erehw eht gnuoy ydal saw nekat!” The man looked at her funny.

“The boss told us to help Cluemaster get the girl to one of his homes. Didn’t say which one, just that it was heavily protected from magic.” The others looked at the man in shock. The man was silent, mouth hanging open in horror that he had gust blabbed to this girl. He looked at her, panic spreading on his face. “Holy shit, you’re a witch?” Zatanna smirked at him and stood up.

“No, you’re just a little rat.” She turned and walked over to her father. Batman and Red Hood both openly gaped at her. Zatara laughed and pulled her into a side hug.

“That’s my girl.” Batman shook himself and headed to the werewolves. He gathered them together and used his hypnotic skills to remove all memories of Zatanna and Zatara. He placed them in a trance that would cause them to forget they had seen anyone other than Batman and his group. Batman and Hood escorted Zatara and Zatanna outside. Hood jumped up onto the nearest roof and began tracking down Nightwing. Batman took the father and daughter to the Batmobile and drove them to the Batcave.

As the van neared its destination, he replaced the gag, nearly getting bitten in the process. He opened the door and bodily dragged her out of the back. As she was ushered inside, she saw an unusual looking fountain in front of the mansion. She was pulled so sharply, she almost landed face first on the marble floor. Arthur was quick to pick her up and continue to a room further inside. He stopped to knock at the double doors and was admitted inside. He stopped her in front of a large desk with a high back chair. The chair turned and she got her first look at her father’s employer.

The man had a fair complexion, rat like beady eyes, a crooked nose and slicked back dark hair. When he laid eyes on the two of them, he motioned towards the tall book shelves around him and several men came out from the shadows. Arthur nudged her.

“Boss, I did what I said I would. I brought the girl who knows who the Bat and his brood are. She’ll try to keep quiet, but it’s only a matter of time before she cracks. She ‘Spoil’ their identities quick.” Arthur puffed out his chest in pride. The man scoffed loudly and stood up. He walked towards the duo, shaking his head.

“Arthur, you egotistical moron. You didn’t stay long enough to make sure they died from the trap, did you? No, of course you didn’t. If you had, you’d know their identities already.” He shook his head again and Stephanie snorted. “See, she agrees you’re an idiot.” He tsked as he walked around the two.

“If it weren’t for the fact, you still owe the boss a lot of money, I’d kill you myself.” Stephanie tensed and shot a glare at her father. Arthur had visibly deflated at the harsh words. The man walked back to the desk. “Besides, why do I want to know who the Bat is? As long as those vamps are dead, that’s all I’m worried about.” Arthur cleared his throat nervously.

“About that boss, the Bat’s got connections to money. Spoiler was living with a very wealthy man and his family. We can ransom her for money in case they managed to escape.” Stephanie almost choked. Her father was serious, he thought Bruce would pay money to get her back. But for some reason, he hadn’t outright said Bruce’s name. Before she could figure out why, a gentleman darted to the boss’ side.

“Apologies boss, there’s a very important call for you, sir.” The boss nodded, and turned to Arthur.

“I’ll be right back, Arthur. Don’t go running off now.” He left the, library Stephanie reasoned, and didn’t come back for a minute. When he returned, he had something behind his back. She flinched, surprised to sense such dark amusement, and an undercurrent of twisted satisfaction. “That was the ‘Big boss’, Arthur. Do you want to know what he had to say?” Arthur swallowed loudly and the others laughed cruelly.

“That’s right Arthur, the ‘Big boss’ was calling to tell me the Bats escaped. They had help from someone with magic. The were’s there couldn’t tell who had done it, and seeing as how they had had their memories altered, they were disposed of. They were trying to find the girl, so it’s only a matter of time until they get here. Unless tainted blood is spilt here, the barrier won’t protect us. The boss gave me the word to spill the necessary blood.” Before Stephanie could blink, there was a loud shot. She looked at the boss to see him holding a handgun, pointing it in their direction.

She saw the smoke curl around the barrel of the gun and blinked, trying to make her brain work. She felt something shift behind her, and turned to look over her shoulder, in time to see her father fall to the side, with a large bullet hole in his forehead. It took a few seconds more to register, but then she started screaming into her gag. She collapsed to her knees and shook her father’s body with her hands. It was useless, she knew, but she was unable to stop. She continued to scream even as she was pulled away from the body by several strong hands. She cried until a large hand smacked her face so hard, she swore her head spun.

She was pulled along into another room, and was shoved to the floor. She looked about in a daze, looking up at her father’s killer. He motioned again to his men and they circled her menacingly. It was only as she turned to face him angrily, that she realized something in the air was different. Then it hit her; magic, there was magic in the air now.

“You can cry and scream as much as you want to, sweetheart, but no amount of tears will bring back a were with a silver bullet in his brain. He was right about one thing though, the Bat will come for you. The Hood will come for you and none of them will able to find you now. Unless innocent blood is spilt here, there’s no way to remove the barrier, and you’ll die here. Even if they do find our location, they’ll only be able to watch you die. And now that you’re here, you’re all ours.”

Back at the Batcave, Bruce and the others were trying to figure out the hideout of Rex Sionis when they heard on the radio of the eight dead body found at Kipper’s. Zatanna, unused to such violence, gasped and hugged her father tight. Jason punched the table, almost breaking in in the process. Barbara was about to speak, when the four vampires heard a voice.

(“Ah, it seems I’m too late after all. I’m very sorry, Mr. Wayne. However, I assure all of you that is was indeed worth the delay.”) Bruce relaxed as he told Jarvis Tabitha had arrived. Jarvis was quick to fetch her from the upstairs and escort her down to the cave. Before she could greet everyone properly, Jason snarled at her.

“Where the hell were you, witch? You’ve always been there when we needed you, except this time. And here you are, strolling in here late, making excuses. Don you have any idea what we’ve been up to? And then the damn barrier fell, and you think you can just,” He was cut off as she held his glare.

“Yes, Mr. Todd, I am aware I’m late this time. However I assure you, it was absolutely necessary. I know Ms. Brown is in trouble, and we will find her. But it will take time, which means we need to focus on a more pressing matter; the barrier. We must fix it and strengthen it in order to maintain a safe haven for the Wayne clan.” When Jason made to object, she continued. “How else do you plan on protecting her if not to bring her back to a safe place with a strong barrier?” Jason pouted but kept quiet.

“Mr. Wayne, I know why the barrier fell. But I can rebuild it with your help. That is another reason I asked Mr. Zatara and his daughter, Ms. Zatara to help. The more magic used to rebuild it, the more attacks it can with stand.” Giovanni Zatara and Zatanna both nodded their heads in agreement. Tabitha turned to Bruce.

“Thank you Tabitha, tensions are very high at the moment, but we are all, “ he spoke as he shot a look at Jason, “very grateful for your continued help. But, if I may ask, what caused the barrier to fall in the first place?” Tabitha sighed.

“The truth is, Mr. Wayne, the barrier fell due to Mr. Todd.” At that, Jason whirled around and stomped toward Tabitha.

“What the fuck does that mean? How did I destroy it?” She cut him off by holding up a hand, causing him to still immediately. She looked at him sadly, as if afraid of what she was about to say.

“You know very well that the barrier senses any member of the Wayne clan. But it is customary for a newly turned member to bleed on the gate, to give the barrier a chance to recognize the changes caused to the members. It still recognizes the spirit, but it also needs to recognize the change to the blood. The other night, instead of wiping even a tiny drop of your vampiric blood on the gate, you bled heavily on the floor of the cave. Which, since it wasn’t on the outside of gate but on the inside of the barrier, caused it to start to break down. It also caused Mr. Wayne to behave irrationally about certain things, since they are connected.” Jason gaped at Tabitha.

“What, you mean to tell me, I’m the reason my own soulmate is in danger? That she could be beaten to death, because of me?” Tabitha reached a hand out to cup his cheek.

“If you had at any time after being turned, pricked a finger and dropped even one drop of blood onto the gate, none of this would have happened. Remember when I told you earlier this year, that you needed to bleed for this family? That’s what I meant, and it is my fault for not being clearer. I promise you Mr. Todd, we will find Ms. Brown and bring her to safety. I will do everything I can to make this right.” Jason wanted to be mad, but all he saw in her eyes was sorrow. This was her fault, but it was also his fault. And it was Bruce’s fault for not reminding him, but he knew he couldn’t dwell on that right now.

Jason nodded his head and Tabitha smiled sadly. “I will fix my mistake, no matter what it takes. Right now, we need to rebuild the barrier, then we will need to find her.” She looked around at everyone present. “Mr. Wayne, Mr. Pennyworth, the two of you must bleed first on the barrier once Mr. and Ms. Zatara and I fix it. After that, I need Mr. and Mrs. Grayson and Mr. Todd to bleed on it as well. Once that is done, I will scry for her. However, it might take some time, so please be patient with me.”

Everyone present nodded once more and headed outside. The ceremony took roughly an hour, and once finished, was indeed stronger than ever. Zatanna was delighted to learn such a strong shielding spell and soaked up the knowledge like a sponge. One they returned inside, Bruce sent Jarvis to bed, knowing the elderly man need his sleep. The Zatara’s were asked to stay up to help with the scrying. And to everyone’s shock, they were unable to find Stephanie anywhere on the maps. Tabitha tried scrying several times, but was unsuccessful every time. Jason began to get discouraged.

Dick was the one who came up with a different idea.

“Jay, I know you’ve drank other blood since you drank hers, but do you think you can try to reach out to her from this distance? I mean, you can only read her mind, but since you’re her soulmate, maybe you can try to reach out to her?” Tabitha clapped her hands.

“Of course, Mr. Todd, as her soulmate you can reach out to her if the two of you share a deep trust in each other.” Jason grimaced.

“Even if she trusted me before this, she’s more than likely lost any and all trust in me now.” Bruce chimed in.

“Of course she trusts you Jason, you’ve already had psychic dream sex. She might be upset we kept things from her, but she’d be more angry with me than with you.” Jason choked and began turning red. Tabitha nodded and pulled a glass ball from her ever present satchel. She walked to him and placed it in his hands.

“That settles it than. I want you to focus on the dream you two shared.” Jason raised both eyebrows and gaped at Tabitha. She shook her head and huffed. “It doesn’t matter that you had two had psychic sex, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Now, do as I say and think about the dream. Not what you did physically, but how the two of you connected emotionally. Think about how you felt to be with her, not the lust.”

Jason looked at everyone present, looking away quickly as Zatara glared at him. He looked at Tabitha, turned to take a few steps away, and began to recall the dream. It took a few tries of not thinking about the lust, but eventually he got it. He remembered how she looked at him with such love and devotion in her eyes. How she gently asked him if he had been uncomfortable before they started. And finally, how timidly yet joyously she had kissed him when it was over. He felt something tug him in a direction. He turned in that direction, and almost lost the connection when he realized he had found her.  
_____  
He held strong to the connection, willing it stronger. He found himself pulled into a darkened room he didn’t recognize. He looked to the side and saw a figure in a chair. He walked to the figure, gasping when he saw it was Stephanie. Her mask had been taken before they arrived at Kipper’s, but now so where her boots, gloves and cape. Her belts were gone as well, but it was the torn eggplant suit that made his blood run cold. 

There was dried blood trailing down into her eye from a cut at her hairline. Her lips were busted, her other eye swollen and blackened. There were bruises on her hands and feet, numerous cuts and tears in her suit. But the worst injury was to her right leg. It was broken. He tried to reach out to her, remembering in the last moment he wasn’t there. 

“What did they do to you, babe?”


	15. Chapter 14: Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I would like to thank you all for putting up with my short chapters and my erratic update schedule. I’ll try to do better especially since every one of the readers deserve so much better. We’re getting into the home stretch now, with maybe four or five more chapters after this one. (To be honest, I didn’t think this story would get as many likes or favs or comments that it did. This is by far the longest story I’ve ever written, and I hope it continues to hold your interest. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.)
> 
> Second, this chapter has graphic descriptions of a severe beating and torture, and there is some mention of blood. This is not a gory chapter, but there will be talk of serious injuries. These werewolves are bastards with a horrible sense of humor. Also, Hood does burn Rex’ face. This chapter also has one of the werewolves ask if they can take turns with Stephanie, but Black Mask will not let that happen. One of them does pee on her, so if that sets anyone off, please do not read this chapter. In fact, if any of this sets anyone off, please skip to the next part. Please use caution when reading this chapter.
> 
> If I think of anything else, I’ll write it in the an’s.
> 
> As always, I would like to give a big, warm thank you to Wolfsrudeltaktik, kitten4979, Addie_Lover_of_Stories, Blueangle97, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, SamTheKingOfHell, Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 29 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank Annadayenow18, Nethra, RedLippedAngel, xiaotianshi, mtsukai, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx, SamTheKingOfHell, TheJokerQueen13 & Addie_Lover_of_Stories for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. It makes me feel so happy, and I hope you can forgive my long update times. Please bear with me and thank you all so very much for sticking with me, I hope I don’t disappoint anyone.
> 
> (P.S. The reason I keep posting all of the awesome people above, is because it’s the only way I know of to show how much I absolutely appreciate all of you. All of you give me so much encouragement and I want everyone to know how much it means to me. Thank you all so very much. :D)
> 
> (P.S. if you have a question about something, like an aspect of the curse, what’s up with a certain character, etc. please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. I’ll gladly tell you what I can. Thanks again ;P) P.P.S. I won’t stop posting my thanks to everyone I just mentioned, as I feel I owe all of you a big amount of gratitude, and if it weren’t for you, this fic wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has. Thank you again.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

“You can cry and scream as much as you want to, sweetheart, but no amount of tears will bring back a were with a silver bullet in his brain. He was right about one thing though, the Bat will come for you. The Hood will come for you and none of them will able to find you now. Unless innocent blood is spilt here, there’s no way to remove the barrier, and you’ll die here. Even if they do find our location, they’ll only be able to watch you die. And now that you’re here, you’re all ours.” The boss told her as she tried to stand up. He motioned to one of the men, who proceeded to move over to her.

Just as she made to stand up, she felt something hit her in the back of a knee, which knocked her back down. She looked up in time to see the man swing his foot back and kick her very hard in the side. She screamed loudly into the gag, and tried to take a deep breath. The man grabbed her by the collar of her suit, lifting her up to her feet. He wasted no time hitting her very hard at her temple. She slumped over, only standing due to him holding her up. He punched her again, hitting her cheek so hard she thought it was bleeding. She tried to clear her foggy thoughts and raise her arms to defend herself, only to get hit in the stomach again.

She grunted, hunching over to protect her stomach, and missed the blow to her back. The grip on her suit loosened and she fell to her knees. She felt the tears slide down her face and looked up to see two other guys had joined the man. She barely had time to think as they grabbed her up by her arms. She was back on her feet, trying not to pass out from the headache she had. She felt someone else grab her belt and immediately tried to fight back. She was backhanded so hard, she felt her bottom lip split open. She knew if she tried to move, the motion would cause severe pain to shot through her side.

Her belt was taken away, as well as the rope she always carried around her torso. Someone grabbed her cape and unlatched it. She tried to move away from the hands, only to have both of the men holding her pull her arms back and pushing her shoulders forward. Almost in an attempt to dislocate both shoulders. She grunted in pain, which caused the men to laugh at her. Her head was throbbing at an alarming rate, and she missed when her hands were untied from in front of her. The men grabbed her lower arms to double the hold on her, and the third man ripped her gloves off.

Then the man whipped out a knife and held it to her throat. He yanked a handful of her hair, pulling her head up to look at him.

“Now, the boss don’t care who the Bat is, but he does want to know who the Hood is. If you co-operate with us, and tell us who he really is, we’ll kill you quickly. If you don’t, well, let’s just say that this so far, is just the warm-up. Capiche?” Stephanie looked at the man through squinted eyes, and it took a few seconds for the man’s words to register. When they did, she narrowed her eyes in what she hoped was a glare. The man slid the hand with the knife behind her head and undid the gag. She tried to spit at him, which only caused him to laugh at her.

She took a breath, as deep as she could with the bruise forming on her side. And in the strongest voice she could, she answered.

“What makes you lot think I know who that is? The ‘Hood’, who’s that? I’m just an idiot girl who wanted to be a hero and got busted. I don’t know who you all are, and you’re just harassing someone from the streets.” The man clicked his tongue.

“See sweetheart, we know the Hood’s scent. And it’s all over you. I know you’re lying. Besides, Arthur is a lot of things, but even he can’t say you aren’t his kid. You look just like him.” He slid his knife down her arm, cutting through the sleeve, and into her arm. Stephanie grit her teeth, as the man stopped at her elbow. “So just tell us the truth.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about. I’m innocent in this. You’re just a bunch of deranged,” she was cut off as the knife was replaced at her throat. The man breathed heavily and leaned down to her ear.

“If you don’t stop acting like you don’t know, I will start cutting more than this. Is that what you want? Besides, the driver of the van saw you try to reach out to the Bat. So I know you know them. This is your last chance to tell us the truth, or else.” Stephanie swallowed carefully against the knife at her throat. She looked at the man and sneered at him.

“Go on then, do your worst. I’m not telling you a fucking thing.” The two men holding her snickered, never once letting her go. The other man sighed heavily and turned to the boss.

“Well boss, she ain’t talking. What do you want us to do?” The man put his hand to his chin, hummed once and started to smirk.

“Beat it out of her. Just don’t go overboard, the Hood needs to be able to recognize her when he comes to collect her body.” The man turned and left and six other men detached themselves from the walls. They cracked their knuckles in excitement. She swallowed nervously once more as the man replaced his switchblade in his pocket and retrieved his knuckle dusters.

“You had your chance sweetheart, now you pay the piper.” He swung his fist into her side and immediately Stephanie felt something crack. She tried to hold back a scream, as he yanked her hair back and punched her in the face. The two holding her up bent her elbows back and ended up popping one of her shoulders out of joint. She almost blacked out due to the pain. Another man kicked her in the stomach, causing the first man’s grip on her hair to let go. She gasped for breath, and tried not to cry out. Yet another man unleashed a downward kick which collided with her collar bone, fracturing it.

She blacked out for a few minutes and woke up to seeing the nine of them surrounding her on the ground. She feebly tried to curl up to protect herself from what she knew was coming. She didn’t see four of the men had pulled their own knives out and began cutting her side and legs. Someone else kicked her again, hard enough she was rolled over onto her other side. Another man picked up a chain and began beating her with it. She began crying in earnest, and thought ‘This is the end.’

The men stopped and for a while, Stephanie thought she was dead, but then she felt the pain. She heard one of the men say something to another.

“Shame she’s the Hood’s bitch, she might be fun to fuck. She can’t fight back right now, and she does make the best noises.” She flinched. “Kinda pretty too, if you like small tits.” The other one chimed in.

“Her tits ain’t all that little, especially since she’s had a kid. No, I like my women to enjoy it when I fuck ‘em. Don’t care for rape.” The first guy chimed in.

“The boss don’t want anyone to fuck her until after they find her. Then we got free reign to take turns while Hood watches. But for now, no one touches her like that, capiche?” The guy who started the conversation, scoffed.

“Oh come on, man, just one little turn? Besides, the boss don’t gotta know.” There was a loud gunshot which caused Stephanie to flinch. Something heavy hit the floor with a thud, and she looked over to see it was a body. She heard the men shuffle aside as someone walked over to her.

“I thought I told you numskulls, no one was to touch her until after the Bat gets here. If anyone else has any bright ideas about screwing her before then, I’ll kill you right now myself.” The men were silent. “No one else has anything to say?” Another pause. “Good, now pick her up and tie her to the chair.” Two men roughly picked her up and dragged her to a chair in the middle of the room. She was sit down and tied to it.

“Now then sweetheart, I’d like to apologize for that cretin’s lack of manners. Never the less, you still haven’t told us what you know about the Hood. So just tell us what we want to know and we’ll kill you right here and now.” Stephanie weakly raised her head and looked at the boss. Or tried to, as she was having a hard time figuring out which of the two he really was. She blinked, only then realizing she had blood oozing down her face. She realized she hadn’t thought once of Jason and she felt a mixture of relief and sorrow. Relief at not thinking about him and therefore not talking about him; sorrow at not being able to make sure he was alive

Stephanie looked at the man and realized, she was going to die here, and never see Jason again. She was certain he had decided she wasn’t his soulmate and left her for dead. Even as she thought that though, she knew deep down that that wasn’t the truth. She knew Jason was really her soulmate and he would find her. She just knew he was looking for, so she took a deep breath and placing her trust in Jason, decided to stall for time.

“What do you want to know?” She asked the man before her. She kept looking from one image to the other, still not certain which one he was. The man, men really, raised an eyebrow at her.

“I want to know what the Hood’s name, or rather, his true identity is. You’ve slept with him before, so you have to know.” Stephanie felt her face heat up at the thought, but beat it down deep inside her. She laughed softly at the man.

“First of all, no, I haven’t slept with him.” ‘At least, not outside of my dreams.’ The man raised his other eyebrow at the declaration. He motioned for her to continue. “And second, even if I did know who is really is, I sure as hell wouldn’t tell you. Especially after you had your men beat me up.” She took a deep breath, feeling his sudden anger. He calmed down immediately, which set her on guard.

“Somehow, I don’t believe your second statement.” He shrugged. “Maybe you haven’t slept with him, but you certainly know who he is.” He sighed and walked over to a table at the far end of the room. It had a tray on it, with several items laid out on it. He picked one up and walked back to her. “This is what I do to liars.” He picked up one of her fingers and broke the bone with the pliers.

Stephanie howled out, trying in vain to get away from him. But the ropes held her arms in place, giving him easy access to her fingers. He looked at her as she tried to breathe through the pain.

“What’s his name? Lie to me again, and I break another one. Most people rip out the nails when they want information. Me, I need my nails for my claws. So, I decided to break the bones in the fingers instead. After all, there are more finger bones then fingernails. So just tell me. What’s. His. Name?”

Stephanie was wheezing at this point. She felt her ribs shift every time she breathed in or out. She was afraid she had internal bleeding, but she knew she couldn’t tell him. Jason and the others had placed their trust in her, and she’d be damned if she betrayed that trust. She croaked out,

“Who?” The boss sneered at her. He tapped her cheek lightly, grinning at her.

“Oh, the Hood got a stubborn one.” He brought the pliers down across the top of her other hand with a sickening thwack. She whimpered in pain, throat too raw and sore to scream again. “Who’s the Hood?” She had a hard time keeping her eyes open, squinting at him.

“He never took off his mask, you moron. I don’t know who he is.” The blow to the face was unexpected. Even more so when it rocked her so hard, the chair was knocked to the side. She groaned as she lay there, willing herself to pass out. They couldn’t interrogate her when she was unconscious. The chair was set right side up, and the questioning continued.

“That was for calling me a moron.” He walked back to the tray and picked up something else. He walked back to her, hefting something that made her skin crawl. ‘No, it can’t be.’ He grabbed her feet, yanking her boots off. He held the right one out, grasping it taught, and slammed a hammer onto her shin. The resounding crack made Stephanie retch. The second swing made her pass out.

“And that, was for lying to me again.” He dropped the hammer, and stepped back. She had finally passed out, and it was a damn shame indeed she was Hood’s. He would have made her his wife, but Arthur had told him something interesting about the girl before him. He grinned, too bad the Hood didn’t know her secret. Maybe she would be the end of him after all. He laughed and motioned for his men to follow him out. There was no point in posting guards when the Bat couldn’t find him, so he left her in the room alone.

_____  
A few hours passed, before a strange flickering light appeared in the room. The light took on a shape like a man, yet never solidified. The figure gained a human appearance and turned into Jason. The form wasn’t solid as he could be seen through, but he was more concerned with his surroundings. He looked around, settling on the person sitting in the chair. He walked toward the chair, almost breaking into a run when he saw her. He reached out to touch her cheek, stopping just short.

“What did they do to you, babe?” She didn’t hear him, but he definitely heard her heavy, uneven breathing. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he tried to touch her cheek. His hand only barely touched her cheek before his fingers sunk into her cheek. The action however, caused her to moan softly. Jason pulled his hand back, watching her. She didn’t move, so Jason focused all of his love and affection and directed it towards her. She began to smile ever so slightly.

“Babe, can you hear me? It’s me. Babe, I know you’re in pain, but you’ve got to answer me, please?” Jason was begging and he knew it. Still, she whimpered ever so slightly, and her eyelids began to flutter. She opened her eyes, squinting at the light ‘Jason’ was giving off. She took a deep breath, causing her to moan in pain as the memories of the interrogation came back to her. She felt tears gather in her eyes, but she smiled none the less.

“Ja-,” she cut off quickly. She raised her head as best she could and looked around. Jason realized what she was doing and looked around the room once more. He turned back to her and spoke softly.

“Don’t worry babe, they aren’t in here. I seriously doubt there are any guards either. Just to be sure though, just speak quietly, alright?” He gave her a half-grin, trying to soothe her nerves. She tried to take a deep breath, which only succeeded in making her cough. She tried her hardest to make her breathing shallow to stop the pain. When she finished, she smiled at Jason, while tears fell down her face.

“I understand, ‘Hood’.” She tried to wink at him through her uninjured eye. “Are you alright? None of you were hurt? I’m so sorry, I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted some answers, I never thought,” she cut herself off to stifle her crying. She hung her head pitifully. 

“That’s my problem though; I never think about what I’m doing, I just do it. That’s why this stuff happens to me. I’m such a moron when it comes to things like this. Dad was right.” She sniffled once as more tears fell down her face. Jason bit his lip trying to figure out what to say. He shook his head and reached out to her once more. He thought about how much he loved her, and tried his hardest to send that love toward Stephanie.

“Your dad was the moron, babe. Yes, you should have thought about what was going to happen, but we’re the ones at fault here. If we had just, no at least I should have told you about your dad. If anything, this is my fault. If I had just told you, you might not have run away to find him. Don’t you dare blame yourself for this; we’re the ones who dropped the ball on this.” Stephanie looked him in the eyes, giving him a small smile.

“You knew, didn’t you?” She looked at him sadly. Jason was quiet for a moment. He heaved a deep sigh.

“About your dad? Yes I did. We’ve known a few days now.” Stephanie shook her head.

“About my dying.” Jason flinched as if he’d been struck. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, before he hung his head.

“Yes.” He paused to look at Steph, noting how she nodded her head resignedly. “Babs had a dream last Wednesday. She told Dick and Bruce then, and I found out Monday night.” He heaved another sigh, moving closer to her. He raised both hands to her cheeks. “No apology I speak can ever make up for not telling you. I, I understand if you never want to talk to us ever again after we get you out of this.” He looked away to hide the tear sliding down his cheek.

Steph chuckled once, which drew Jason’s attention back to her. She was still smiling at him, a look of determination and love written across her features. Jason sucked in a deep breath, shocked she wasn’t downright furious at him and the others. She swallowed slowly.

“I think I knew it was going to happen, I just didn’t think I’d be converted because of this.” She gently rubbed her cheek against one of Jason’s hands. His hand ended up going through her cheek, but she didn’t care. She was determined to make Jason know she wasn’t mad at him. Jason felt more tears slide down his face.

“You knew this was going to happen?” She nodded. “Since when?” She sighed once and flinched at the pain in her ribs.

“Since yesterday. I thought it was strange you all were explaining so much about the gate and such. Then Dick blurted out about me becoming a vampire. You tried to reassure me it wouldn’t be anytime soon, but I knew you were lying. I knew all of you were lying, but I didn’t say anything since it felt so good to be accepted so fast as a member of the family. The Richmond’s are great, but I felt as if I were intruding after I moved in with them. The Richmond’s and the Hamilton’s are my family, but I truly feel at ease at the manor. And then of course, there’s you.

“Anywhere you are, I feel at home.” Jason felt his heart lighten at her words. He swallowed once more, feeling his face heat up. “Is it strange to say something so mushy? Because I feel at peace when I’m with you.” A tear fell from her cheek. “I regret getting caught and not being able to fight alongside all of you. I wish I was with you in the flesh, not here. Especially after,” Her breath hitched and her shoulders shook.

Jason rubbed his thumb across her cheek, barely making contact. He felt his heart break as he watched her break down.

“Babe I know this is really painful for you, but is there anything you can tell me about this place? Anything at all? Like a tacky fountain, or an obnoxious statue, or ugly décor? Anything at all will help us find you. Please babe, anything at all.” She took a staggered breath, swallowing several times before she answered. She closed her eyes.

“There was this hideous marble flooring in the entrance. It was brown, how ugly is that?” Jason chuckled. “Wait, there was something else.” She furrowed her eyebrows, opening her eyes with a gasp. “There was this ugly statue out front. It wasn’t flowing water though. It was kind of yellowish, and it smelt of, alcohol, I think?” Jason gasped, nodding his head.

“I know where you are now. Sionis has three homes he lives in. I know exactly which one this is. Now we know where to go to get you.” Stephanie shook her head quickly, ignoring the pain in her head.

“He said it was protected by a barrier. Something about only innocent blood being spilt would be able to bring it down.” 

“Damn, I’ve heard about that type of barrier. That means only a non-criminal or an ‘innocent’ civilian can break the barrier.” He sighed as he ran his fingers through his auburn hair. Stephanie blinked slowly, looking at him in worry.

“What do you mean? How can that undo the barrier?” She asked tentatively. Jason sighed again and looked at her.

“I mean, they have to spill a significant amount of blood, preferably a decent sized puddle, which then causes the barrier to fall. It has to be roughly the same size as was spilt creating it.” Jason looked around, finding only smears and drag marks on the floor. Not enough to create the barrier. Stephanie flinched and bit back a sob. Jason looked her over, but before he could say anything, they heard footsteps coming down the hall. Jason looked at Stephanie, reaching out to calm her down, gently kissing her on the temple.

“I’m so sorry babe, but I have to go now. If you need me again, just think about me like you’re trying to reach me telepathically. I’ll come right away.” She gave him a watery half-grin and nodded. Then he disappeared, as if he had never been there. 

The door opened and a brawny man sauntered into the room. He saw Stephanie was awake and glaring at him. He smirked at her, pulling a handkerchief from his pants pocket. He shook it out and folded it into a triangle. Before Stephanie could ask what he was doing, he tied the cloth around her head, gagging her. He took a moment to run his fingers through her hair. She jerked her head away and he laughed. Then he unzipped his fly, pulling his penis out.

She flinched, worried about what he was about to do. He laughed again.

“The boss said I could have first dibs with you tonight, so I’m marking my turf.” Then he proceeded to pee on her. She gagged at the smell, and flinched when some of it got on her cuts. When he was finished circling her, he readjusted himself, patted her cheek condescendingly and laughed as he left the room. Stephanie wanted to cry, though she tried to hold her helplessness at bay. She took as deep a breath as she could and reached out to Jason. She was unable to form a link with him, but sensing his presence gave her hope. Now all she had to do was hold on until sunset.

_____  
Meanwhile in the cave, Jason filled in everyone on what he had learned. Tabitha confirmed innocent blood was the only way to destroy the barrier. Jason bit his lip, knowing just who would have to spill blood. Bruce pulled him aside for a few moments. Jason paced back and forth in front of Bruce while Bruce waited for him to calm down. When Jason stopped, Bruce spoke.

“She wasn’t mad at you, was she?” Jason looked at Bruce, grief written across his face. Bruce sighed. “She wasn’t mad at any of us?” Jason snarled his lip and turned away from Bruce.

“No she wasn’t. She didn’t blame us for anything, and she didn’t fucking blame us at all. My God, she had every right to be mad at us, and she didn’t.” He walked the cave wall and punched a hole in it. He trembled as he stood there, trying in vain not to cry. Bruce let him be for a few minutes, before he slowly walked towards Jason and pulled him into an awkward hug. Jason tensed up, but eventually relaxed and returned the hug.

“We will get her back, Jason. I promise you that. And I will do everything in my power to make it up to both of you. She’s a strong young woman. As for not being upset, she’s not upset at you Jason. She loves you and knows you wanted to tell her the truth. I’m certain once we get her back here, once up and about; she’s going to want to have a long talk with me. But we will get her back.”

Jason nodded once, before realizing he was still hugging Bruce. He quickly shoved Bruce back, and scratched the back of his head as he walked back to the others. Bruce chuckled quietly, following him back to the group. It was decided that they were going to stakeout the mansion in question, staying there through the day, to make certain they were there when it was time to move. Then they left, feeding once more on the way to the mansion. They arrived and watched from a safe distance as the sun rose. Tabitha warned them to be cautious and Zatara and Zatanna left to return home. Tabitha stayed with Jarvis at the manor, getting ready for whatever happened next.

After sunrise, Jason sensed Stephanie reach out to him. He closed his eyes, wrapping his hands around the orb Tabitha had given him and focused on Stephanie. He saw her figure gasping for air, her wounds bleeding anew. He reached out to touch her but she shook her head. She looked around quickly and whispered to him.

“I know how to break the barrier.” She looked him in the eyes. “Be ready at sunset, or they’ll do more than take turns with me. I’m counting on you.” She puckered her lips and attempted to blow him a kiss. “I love you, Hood.” Then the connection broke. Jason cursed and it took Bruce and the others to stop him from charging in on his own.

Jason fought against the others, only stopping when Bruce pointed out that it would only endanger Stephanie. Shortly before sunset, they saw men running around, shouting profanities at each other. It took a short while to realize why they were shouting. They saw a mirage-like wave spread out from above the house to the edge of the gate. The barrier was gone. Bruce gave the order to move in, in case they tried to fix the barrier, or create another one. They quickly made their way down to the gate and entered from the opened entrance just before sunset restored their vampiric abilities. They were silently glad Stephanie had rendered the ‘invitation’ part of the curse useless.

It was an accident, but by destroying this type of barrier, she had also broken the rules of ‘invitation by home occupants’ specified by the curse. The mansion was no longer a safe haven, thus it was no longer required to have an invitation to be allowed in. Once they became vampires, they charged towards the house. It took almost no time at all to take out the guards standing outside. The moment they tried to enter the mansion, Sionis’ men poured out, shooting at all four of them. Jason pulled his guns, severely injuring all he shot. No matter how much he wanted to kill them, Bruce had made him swear not to. The next minute, there was a strangled cry followed by Rex Sionis half-dragging, half-carrying Stephanie. 

Her face was ashen; she blinked slowly, as if her eyes couldn’t stay open. She was covered in blood; her right leg was swollen and dragging behind her. Jason took one look and almost tackled Sionis, however he stopped when he met Stephanie’s eyes. Sionis held a gun to her temple, glaring at Hood.

“You’ve got a brave whore here, Hood. She’s not too bright, but she’s loyal like nobody’s business. Now she’s gonna die, and I want to see your face when I pull the trigger. So take off that ridiculous helmet so I can see you look of helpless anguish.” He cocked the hammer of his gun. “Do it now, Hood.” Jason hesitated only for a brief second. He sensed Nightwing silently sneaking up behind Rex.

(Jay, I know this looks bad, but trust me, I will get her away from him. Play along long enough to distract him.) Nightwing telepathically spoke. Hood nodded once to answer his affirmative, but Rex didn’t know it wasn’t to him. He slowly lifted his hands after he holstered his guns, reaching behind his head to undo the mechanism. He slowly lifted his helmet, watching as Rex looked at him in triumph. Which turned to confusion and rage when he saw Hood wore a smaller mask to cover the top part of his face.

“What the hell’s the meaning of this, Hood? I wanna see your damn face.” Sionis replied, pulling Stephanie closer. She stumbled before he jerked her upright. Hood dropped his helmet, flinching at Stephanie’s whimper. He raised his hands above his head.

“Well, you know us ‘Bats’; always afraid someone’ll find out who we are. Besides, it’s mostly for dramatic effect. It just kinda stuck after the first time.” He shrugged nonchalantly, watching Nightwing crouch behind Sionis. He glanced at Stephanie, trying to send her reassurance.

“You lot are the craziest vamps I ever had the misfortune to meet. Fine, if I can’t see the look in your eyes as I kill her, I’ll have to settle for hearing you scream for her when I pull the trigger.” He almost pulled the trigger, when a blur to his left caused him to turn. Less than a second later, Stephanie was being ripped from his grip. The gun went off, with the bullet flying harmlessly over Nightwing and Stephanie. Batgirl pounced from where she had run and pinned Sionis to the ground. Hood ran to Stephanie, almost pushing Nightwing away from her.

Stephanie’s face was almost white, blood dripping from her mouth. Jason gently cradled her head to his chest, careful of her numerous wounds. She was barely breathing, so he bent his head to her ear and spoke softly.

“Babe, I’m so sorry. I failed you, and you got hurt because of me. I’m sorry, so very, very sorry.” He drew a jagged breath, feeling tears slip past his mask. Sionis laughed at him, fighting Batgirl’s restraining grip. Hood gently lowered Stephanie to the ground, and charged Sionis. A fire had broken out before the barrier went down, which was now burning out of control. Jason reached out to the fire, and before he realized what had happened, he was holding a fist-sized fireball against Sionis’ face. 

Sionis howled in pain as Hood kept burning the side of his face. Batman and Batgirl tried to pull him off before he killed Sionis, but it was only when he heard a small voice call out to him that he stopped.

(Hood, Jason, please come back to me. I need you.) Small, weak, barely loud enough to be heard, but full of love. Hood let go of Sionis, the fireball burning out immediately. He shook himself once, looked at Batman, and nodded. Batman released him, watching as he went back to Stephanie. Nightwing looked him in the eye, and took a step back to let Hood be with Stephanie. He once more gently held her, as she fought to open her eyes and speak.

“I’m right here babe. Don’t try to speak; we’ll get you home, I promise.” She coughed and more blood came from her mouth. He gently wiped it from the corner of your mouth. She looked at him, and whispered.

“I don’t think I’ll survive the trip home.” Jason felt as if a cold hand had wrapped around his heart, and was squeezing painfully. His panic must have been noticeable to her, because she continued talking. “At least, not without a little help.” He tensed up, looking at her more intently. 

“Are you sure about this babe? If you really mean this, there’s no turning back. If I give you my blood, it’ll only hold for a short while, before you have to drink Batman’s blood. Or you will die.” He choked back a sob. “I want you to do this, but it has to be your decision.” She looked at him and smiled.

“I, want y-you H-hood.” He gasped at her stammering. She was fading fast. He reached out to her telepathically.

(If you really choose this, you need to know life with me won’t be easy. Not always. I’m not an easy man to live with.) He felt her stir slowly in his mind. He was afraid she would change her mind.

(Jason, I choose you. I know it’s selfish, but I want to be with you. Besides, I’m not some innocent angel.) She raised a hand to cup his cheek. (I want you. Please?) Jason took a deep breath, locking eyes with her. 

He raised a hand, pulling his glove half off with his teeth. He bit his wrist, placing it over her mouth. She choked, before Nightwing began massaging her throat to help her swallow. Hood glanced at his brother and bowed his head in gratitude. Once she had drunk enough, he sealed the wound on his wrist, and picked her up. Batman stood up and tossed Hood a key.

(You’ll get back faster in the Batmobile.) Hood stared at Batman briefly before bowing his head at his father-figure. He ran for the Batmobile. He opened the passenger door, gently placing Stephanie in the seat and strapping her in. He entered the driver side, and brought the engine to life. He wasted no time heading for the Batcave. Stephanie stirred not long after, and looked at Jason. Jason tried to crack a joke.

“Yeah, this is the infamous ‘Batmobile’. She’s a bit much at first glance, but she’s the smoothest ride you’ll ever come across.” Stephanie sniffled once and tears fell down her cheeks. “Whoa, it’ll be alright babe. Once Bruce gives you his blood, it’ll cause that asshole’s stench to come off. Fuckin bastard pissing all over a girl like that. It’ll be alright, you’re safe now.” She shook her head, curling in on herself.

“That was bad, but that’s not why I’m crying.” Jason looked at her nervously. She took a heaving breath and blurted out, “They killed my dad.” Jason thanked his experience behind the wheel for not swerving off the road. He watched her as she began to cry in earnest. He turned back to the road, unsure of what to say. He was quiet as she continued crying. 

“I know he was a moron, and he did bad things, but they didn’t have to kill him like that. Sionis said he used a silver bullet, that his death was what caused the barrier.” She choked back a sob. “I may have been disgusted with him, but he didn’t deserve to die like that.” She bit her lip. “Oh God, I told him I regretted being his daughter, that I was disappointed with him. He died thinking I hated him.” Jason grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

“I’m sure your father didn’t think that you hated him Steph. No matter how mad you were with him, I’m positive he didn’t.” He took a deep breath when she flinched, her body shuddering. Alarmed, but wanting to hide it, he changed the subject. “So, uh, mind telling me exactly how you broke the barrier?” He cracked a smile, and was rewarded with a smirk from Stephanie.

“You’re probably gonna thing think its gross, but I used the blood from my injuries to make a big enough puddle. When he found out, he tried to stop me, but by then it was too late.” She shuddered again, suppressing a whimper. “How did you get in though? I thought you had to be invited?” Jason cringed at her explanation. He shook himself.

“Once the barrier was gone, we darted in. I know Dick mentioned, when he was a kid, he broke into Babs’ home and invited Batman inside. Well, once the barrier was down, we realized you had basically said, ’please come in’. It wasn’t your home, but for a short time, you were able to let us in, so to speak.” Stephanie cried out once, and her half healed injuries, started to bleed again. Jason cursed under his breath, pushing the Batmobile to higher speeds. “Shit, my blood was supposed to hold you over for at least an hour or so. It’s been less than fifteen minutes.” Stephanie swallowed heavily.

“Jason, something’s wrong, I feel like I have to throw up.” She swallowed again, locking eyes with him. Jason cursed again, turning once more to driving. Stephanie’s eyes had turned black, with hints of gold. Just like a ghoul.

_____  
Back at Sionis’ manor, Nightwing and Batgirl rounded up the other werewolves. Before they could begin to interrogate them, Sionis laughed. Batman pulled him off the ground, careful not to aggravate his burns. Sionis flinched, but continued to laugh. 

“Hood’ll bein for a nasty shock when he gets her home. If they both survive that is.” Batman felt a weight land in his stomach. He shook Rex’ collar.

“What do you mean, Sionis?” He shook him again when he was answered with laughter. “What do you mean? What’s going on?” Sionis looked at him with a taunting smirk.

“Come on Bat, you gotta know. You drank her blood.” Batman tensed, which caused Sionis grin wider. “You mean you haven’t? It was only Hood that drank her blood? That makes this even fucking better.” He turned to look at Nightwing and Batgirl, then turned back to look at Batman. “That explains how he found her so fast.”

“You know how a vampire can’t drink werewolf blood? Something about the magic in both would kill the vamp? And a were can’t bite a vamp, or else they die? What happens if a vamp drinks a witch’s blood?” Batman shifted his stance, feeling a chill run down his back.

“Depending on the witch, it would make the vampire or werewolf stronger, more emotionally unstable. Or it would drive them crazy or even kill them.” Sionis nodded his head.

“If a vamp drank the blood of a witch who hadn’t awakened his or her magic, it would give the vamp a power boost. But, if they gave their blood to said witch, it would kill the witch, causing them to become a ghoul.” Batman dropped his hold on Sionis’ collar. “That’s right Bat. That’s why her father sold her to us to get out of debt. Apparently her mother was descended from witch blood and never manifested it. Same with her daughter. You’re only lucky Hood’s dealt with magic so many times; it’s practically part of him.”

“But Spoiler, not being aware of this and drinking his blood, will accidently become a ghoul. A creature that only lives to feed on human flesh and blood.” Batman finished. He felt like smacking himself. That was why her empathetic abilities had gotten so strong, so fast. It was because she had hidden magic that had only been fueled by the curse and the protective spell. He remembered something Tabitha had said after she had arrived. He grabbed Sionis by his shoulders, slamming him against a wall.

“And if another witch happens to be able to counter said magic?” Sionis lost his smirk, frowning heavily.

“Then I guess she’d be able to transform completely. But there’s no one old enough to know how to prevent that from happening.” He grinned arrogantly. Batman chuckled under his breath, causing Sionis to stiffen in fear.

“Have you ever heard of a witch who calls herself ‘Tabitha’?” The look on Rex’ face was well worth it. “What about the group of Mystics known as the ‘All-Caste’?” Rex whimpered. 

(Nightwing, how much longer until the police get here?) Nightwing glanced over his shoulder to look at his mentor.

(It shouldn’t be much longer. If you need to get to the manor, we’ve got things under control.) Batman shook his head once.

(No, we need to erase Stephanie from their memories. Preferably before the police get here.) Batgirl took one look at the captured werewolves.

(Then we need to do it now, or else we risk them telling the police who we are as well.) She chimed in. Batman nodded, and led Sionis to the group. He pulled his cowl off his face and locked eyes with Sionis. Nightwing removed his mask and Batgirl removed her cowl as well. As one, three pairs of eyes turned black and held their audience in a trance, making them forget Stephanie’s real name and to only remember ‘Cluemaster’ and ‘Spoiler’. They removed all traces of their true identities and replaced their masks. Just as the police arrived, Sionis grabbed Batman’s arm.

“I can’t talk to the cops, you gotta help me.” Batman turned away from him. “Come one Bat, one of your people almost melted my face off. You owe me one.” Batman turned back to Rex.

“It was everything I could do to keep him from killing you after you tortured his mate. You’re right about one thing; I shouldn’t have let that happen. I will take responsibility for that. But, I’m not going to help you stay out of jail, when you have done several terrible things.” Rex nodded his head.

“That’s right, I did have her roughed up, but that was on orders from my boss.” He bit his lip when he realized what he had said. By now several werewolves had been put in the backs of police cars. Batman watched Rex take a deep breath. “If I talk to the cops about my boss, will you protect me?” Commissioner Loeb walked up behind Sionis, watching quietly.

“If you want to snitch on your boss, you have to talk to the police first. After that, maybe they can work out a deal. Who knows, maybe they can keep you safe after that?” He nodded to Loeb and handed him over. “He’s all yours now Commissioner.” Loeb nodded and went to say something, only to notice Batman, Nightwing and Batgirl were nowhere to be seen. Soon after, three taillights were seen heading away from the manor.

_____  
Back with Hood, Stephanie fought back a wave of sharp pain. She felt her stomach clench, and attempted to keep from throwing up. Hood grabbed the radio microphone.

“Hood to Base, come in base. This is an emergency.” He waited only a few seconds before there was an answer.

“This is base to Mr. Hood.” Jason almost cursed when he heard Tabitha. He bit his tongue, since he needed to speak to her anyway. 

“Base, something’s happening to Spoiler. I really need some help here.” There was a pause, and then came an answer.

“It is best if we communicate a different way. Just in case there are eavesdroppers.” Before Jason could acknowledge the suggestion, he heard her voice in his head.

(All will be well Mr. Todd. I saw something like this happening, which is why I was late getting here. I needed to gather the right ingredients to make a potion to nullify the process. I will explain when the two of you arrive why this happened, but know I have the solution ready. Once you get here, Mr. Wayne is the only one who can fix the situation. Miss. Brown will be in pain, but she will not turn completely into a ghoul. I promise.)

(You mean to tell me, you saw Stephanie turn into a ghoul and didn’t tell us? What the hell Tabitha?) Jason was so caught up in his anger; he didn’t realize Stephanie was crying. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. He reached over and grabbed her hand. “Hey babe, are you alright? I mean, obviously you’re in pain, but I mean will you be alright?” Stephanie looked at him, lip trembling.

“What’s happening to me Jay? I’m scared and I hurt, but not the same way you all said I would.” Jason swallowed.

“Don’t worry babe, it’s going to be alright. Once we get you back and Bruce gives you his blood, everything will be alright.”

“Jason, please don’t lie to me. I know you’re scared too. I can feel it.” Jason flinched, feeling chastised. He took a deep breath.

“You’re right, I am scared. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I should have had Dick give you some of his blood. I think something’s wrong with my blood. Maybe it’s because of how I was converted, but I think my blood’s different. That’s the only thing I can think of as for why it didn’t last as long as it should have. But it’s alright; Tabitha and Jarvis are waiting for us at the cave. It’s going to be alright, I promise.” He lifted her hand to his mouth, and kissed it gently.

Stephanie took a breath, held it and released it. She nodded her head and tried to relax. She whined as another wave of pain hit and Jason rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

“Why do you think something’s wrong with your blood? Aside from not lasting very long? When you saw my eyes, you cursed.” Jason never stopped rubbing her hand, just sighed.

“If I tell you, will you change your mind about staying with me? Will you chose to die instead of being converted?” She looked at him quizzically. He sighed once more. “Do you really want to stay with me? If you change your mind, I’ll understand. I don’t want you to regret anything.” Stephanie was hit with a wave of deep sadness and resignation.

“No, I won’t change my mind. I told you I want to be with you, I‘m not going to change my decision.” Jason felt a tiny curl of hope deep inside. “Whatever it is Jay, just tell me. I’m not completely weak, I’m not one of those fainting damsels. I won’t run away.” Jason nodded.

“Alright, I’m going to tell you, so if you change your mind, just tell me.” He took another deep breath. “I think my blood is turning you into a ghoul.” Stephanie kept watching him. “I mean, you’re turning into a ghoul, and I’m certain it’s my blood that’s doing it.” She gasped, clenching her fists. “That’s what I meant when I asked if you wanted to change your mind.”

“A g-ghoul? You mean like the kind that eats flesh?” Before Jason could answer, she continued. “But you said Tabitha could help. You don’t mean by killing me, right?” Jason shook his head adamantly. Stephanie sighed. “Alright then, how will she help?” Jason gaped at her.

“She told me just now, that she has a potion that would work to nullify, this. Well, she said Bruce had to use it, but she was certain it would fix this.” Stephanie sighed in relief, then whined in pain again. “We’re almost home, just a little longer babe.” Stephanie nodded. “Why aren’t you more upset about this? Why aren’t you cursing me for getting you involved in this?” 

“I’m terrified about this Jason. I am, it’s just that I’m trying to focus on the positive. If Tabitha told you I’ll be alright, then I will be. I want to believe in that, and I want to have hope that this will work.” She squeezed his hand. “Besides, why should I be cursing you? Yes, you hid the truth about my father from me, but after what I did when I found out, I really can’t get mad at you. I’m the reason I got hurt like this.”

“Dammit Steph, when you say things like that, it makes me feel so guilty. Fine, it wasn’t entirely my fault, but it wasn’t your fault either. Rex was the one who did this to you. We can both agree on that.” Stephanie nodded. “Well, him and the asshole who pissed on you. I swear when I find him, I’m ripping his dick off and shoving it up his nose.” Stephanie snorted in amusement, shaking her head. 

“My Lord, why are you vampires so violent?” She bit back a cry of pain, and Jason saw a drop of black blood slide down her face. They were running out of time. Luckily, they were pulling into the secret entrance of the Batcave. A tall black woman stood there waiting for them when they came to a stop. Jason through open the door before the engine had cut off. The woman opened Stephanie’s door.

“Hello, Miss. Brown. It is a pleasure to meet you. You may call me, Tabitha.” She extended her hands to help Stephanie out of the vehicle. Once Stephanie had slung an arm around Tabitha’s shoulders, they slowly made their way to the medical ward. Tabitha and Jason eased her onto a bed, as Jarvis appeared with a box of supplies. “Now then, let’s give you something to help you with the pain. It tastes quite bitter, but it will stop the conversion."

Stephanie nodded in understanding. She saw Tabitha mix something in a wooden bowl, whispering something in a foreign language. She turned around and helped Stephanie drink it. Stephanie almost threw up, if not for Tabitha’s hand covering her mouth.

“It’s alright, just swallow slowly.” Stephanie shuddered, swallowing a few times. When she was finished, she felt a weight settle over her body. “We’ll just lay you down now. You’re fine, this will merely make you feel sleepy. All I need you to do is relax.” Stephanie felt truthfulness and calm from Tabitha, so she took a deep breath. Jason helped her lay back and seconds later she was asleep. Jason turned to Tabitha.

“She’ll be alright?” Tabitha nodded. She turned back to the box Jarvis had brought in. She began removing herbs, placing them in a mortar bowl. “Alright, what do we do now?” Jason asked. Tabitha never looked away from her work.

“Now, Mr. Todd, we wait for Mr. Wayne.”


	16. Chapter 15: Descent Into the Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank every single one of my readers, you all are the absolute best, and without you I would not have written anywhere near as much as I have. I know when I started this fic, I said I would keep the romance to a minimum, as well as not having any sex scenes. I want to apologize for going back on my word, I’m not trying to make any excuses, I just changed my mind during the writing process. Either way, I’m sorry, and incredibly grateful that everyone has stuck with me throughout this story.
> 
> Saying that, for some reason, my writing flow feels very strange for this chapter. I’m very sorry for that as well. I like what I wrote, but not the way I wrote it. Never-the-less, I hope you like this chapter. 
> 
> There is a section in the chapter where Dick and Jason have a discussion about Bruce and Jason, and how their relationship is strained. This is only the beginning of a long healing process for the Wayne clan, this is mainly for Jason to acknowledge a few things about Bruce and how he treats Bruce. So hopefully, those of you who like ‘Bat-fam’ stories where they mostly get along (like myself) will like this. There is also a short apology scene with Bruce, but since I’m not good with writing scenes like this, hopefully it isn’t too bad. (Please go easy on me when it comes to this.) As I said before, it’s been twenty years, so things have gotten less strained, and maybe this will have them getting along better. (Especially since I can’t just magically have them forgive each other so quickly.)
> 
> ***WARNING: There is a rather creepy scene where Stephanie is about to become a ghoul. During the process, she starts forgetting things, like the fact that eating flesh is wrong. But she does snap out of it. After that, the transformation into a vampire is a bit hurried. Once that’s over, there won’t be any more creepy or dark scenes in this story. *** (Emotional scenes, yes, dark and creepy, no.)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you once more for your support.
> 
> As always, I would like to give a big, warm thank you to InYourDreamsBirdboy, Wolfsrudeltaktik, kitten4979, Addie_Lover_of_Stories, Blueangle97, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, SamTheKingOfHell, Vigilante13, AnnieQuill, Skyres3450, etherealciel, xXXbelievexXx, delphinus, graceface, Roach_of_Wrath, KiwiClover, Quinius and the 32 guests who all left kudos. I would also like to thank Annadayenow18, Nethra, RedLippedAngel, xiaotianshi, mtsukai, TheJokerQueen13, Beacuzz, Lieutenant_Marvel, Vigilante13, delphinus, graceface & Roach_of_Wrath for the bookmarks. And thank you to delphinius, xXXbelieveXXx, SamTheKingOfHell, TheJokerQueen13 & Addie_Lover_of_Stories for the awesome reviews. I truly appreciate all of you. It makes me feel so happy, and I hope you can forgive my long update times. Please bear with me and thank you all so very much for sticking with me, I hope I don’t disappoint anyone.
> 
> (P.S. The reason I keep posting all of the awesome people above, is because it’s the only way I know of to show how much I absolutely appreciate all of you. All of you give me so much encouragement and I want everyone to know how much it means to me. Thank you all so very much. :D)
> 
> (P.S. if you have a question about something, like an aspect of the curse, what’s up with a certain character, etc. please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. I’ll gladly tell you what I can. Thanks again ;P) P.P.S. I won’t stop posting my thanks to everyone I just mentioned, as I feel I owe all of you a big amount of gratitude, and if it weren’t for you, this fic wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has. Thank you again.
> 
> Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 15: Descent into the Unknown

Waiting for Bruce was one of the hardest things Jason had ever done. Jason knew Bruce would be back soon, but it was a test of his patience this night, if only because he was worried about Stephanie. She was still unconscious, but even then there were little flares of energy that signaled a change into a ghoul. He had never heard of a human becoming a ghoul while still alive, so he believed it was because of him. Tabitha motioned for him to hand her a root to add to her potion, telling him calmly that she would be able to reverse it.

After almost half an hour, he heard the roar of motorcycles. He hurried to the entrance to meet them, gripping the railing on the steps so tightly, it bent. Bruce came to a stop last, cutting the engine off and removed his helmet. He yanked the cowl back as he hurried toward Jason. Dick and Barbara were already there, having tossed their helmets to the floor seconds earlier.

“Bruce, something’s wrong with Stephanie. My blood’s turning her into a ghoul. Tabitha is making a potion to counter it, but she said you have to be the one to drink it before you give her you’re blood.” Jason blurted out quickly. The group hurried to the medical bay, greeting Jarvis as he pulled the curtain back to allow them to enter. Stephanie was still asleep, but her skin was starting to turn a greenish-black, with the area around her eyes turning a sickly grey. Bruce turned to Jason.

“Jason, I promise you, this is not your fault.” He held up a hand when Jason made to interrupt him. “No, just listen to me. It wasn’t your blood that did this, it was hers.” Jason looked at him is confusion. “She’s descended from witches, and her residual magic is reacting with your vampiric blood. You said you felt much stronger after drinking her blood, and we assumed it was because she’s your mate. It never occurred to any of us, myself included, that it was because she was part witch herself.” 

Jason stared at him in shock. It took a few seconds to process Bruce’s words. Tabitha walked up behind him and began to speak.

“He is correct, Mr. Todd. It doesn’t happen often, but if a vampire does drink a witch’s blood, depending on the witch’s power and the type of vampire, it can cause a massive surge of power or kill them. In your case, it caused a power boost. However, even if you knew about her magical potential, you still would have given her your blood, or she would have died.” She placed her hand on Jason’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “It was not your fault, Mr. Todd. And I promise you, she will not become a ghoul, not on my watch.” Jason heaved a grateful sigh of relief.

“I’m not sure how far back Stephanie’s family’s lack of magic goes, maybe only a few generations. But her father found out somehow and used that to get into Sionis’ employ. Either way, that’s why they used her as bait. They knew one of us would give her our blood, and they knew her drinking our blood would cause her to become a ghoul. Especially since curse related or not, it is ‘dead’ blood and witches draw from ‘living’ energy. It was only luck she drank your blood, which already had a different type of magic as well.” Bruce replied as he walked with Tabitha to a patch of ground away from the medical bay.

Dick patted Jason on the back in sympathy. Jason took a deep breath, turning to look once more at Stephanie. He felt a little less guilty now that he knew it had all been a trap. But he still couldn’t shake the feeling he was to blame for Stephanie’s current condition. He heard Tabitha speaking to Bruce, not paying the slightest attention to what she said. He was caught off guard when Bruce raised his voice in alarm.

“Are you absolutely sure about this Tabitha?” Jason whipped around in time to see Tabitha begin to trace a large circle on the ground in chalk. Bruce was tense, with his shoulders lowered, as if ready to attack. Tabitha spoke without looking up from her work.

“I am absolutely certain about this, Mr. Wayne.” She continued moving around the ten foot wide circle. Once she was finished with the outside, she began drawing symbols in side, working her way to the center. As she started working on the inside, she continued. “To counter the transformation into a ghoul, we need to strip her of any residual magic she has. In order to do that, we need to draw the magic from her body from the outside and the inside. To do that, normally you would have to drink all of her blood, while someone else gives her their blood to sustain her. You would then draw the transformation into yourself, taking on her transformation for her.

“The potion I made will require you to drink only some of her now tainted blood, drawing it into you and then pulling the rest out of her. By doing it this way, we will prevent her from dying and then turning into a ghoul. The magic you will have to draw from her will cause you immense pain and you will partially turn into a ghoul, but my blood will destroy it. Once it is out of her body, we will have to purge it from you as well. As quickly as possible so that you can then safely give her your blood, and the true transformation can begin.” She looked up at him once, with determination in her eyes. “I turned you into a vampire so that you would be able to grow as a person, not to torture you. You have already stated you would die for your family, and I will see to it that none of you will die.”

Jason stared at Tabitha in awe. This woman, standing barely 5’8, who looked so unassuming, was promising Bruce and everyone present that she would do everything possible to keep them alive. He shivered as a chill ran down his back at the feel of her power. He knew from experience she always kept her word, but hearing her declare this so certainly made him feel very sorry for any moron who thought they could kill any of them. She stared at Bruce and nodded before turning back to her work. Bruce looked relieved, straightening himself and releasing the tension in his shoulders.

“Thank you Tabitha.” He told her truthfully. She nodded once more. “So what exactly do you need me to do?” She continued working and answered.

“When I am finished with my magic circle, I will need you to place Miss. Brown in the center. When the ritual starts, you will have to stand beside her the entire time. I will start once you both are within the circle, and you will have to drink the potion at the start of it. The circle is the only thing that will stabilize the magic. Your curse will fight her magic the entire time, but my blood will drive it out of your body, as you are the only one I’ve directly given my blood to. Once it is finished, I will give you my blood and you in turn will give your blood to her. At that time, she will be turned into a vampire. Once she is safely buried, you will have to drink a large amount of blood in order for your own body to regain its proper strength. For the moment, I want you to drink from every one of your clansmen.”

She looked at Dick and nodded again. “They carry your curse, without it being such strong magic. You will need that to help fortify you once you drink the potion.” She looked back at the circle, still drawing her symbols. Barbara took that time to chime in.

“So in other words, his blood will draw her magic in and cancel it out? Like a type of venom and an antidote?” Tabitha shook her head. Bruce walked toward Dick, while Dick pulled his gloves off and drew one of his sleeves up. He held his arm out to Bruce.

“It will cancel it out, Mrs. Grayson, but not like that. An antidote is still a poison, and while that is seemingly what will happen in this case with the different types of magic, we don’t want that to happen. It is more like pouring baking soda on a small grease fire. Or an acid countering a base. Due to the curse, Mr. Wayne has within him the ability to, in a way, absorb small portions of magic and immediately create a counter. It’s never come up, but it prevents him from being killed by wayward magic. Just like the time Ms. Poison Ivy kissed him, it sent him into a comatose state, but didn’t kill him. That was his magic working to neutralize it.”

(“So that’s why that happened? I wondered how she wasn’t able to kill me like she did others. All tests indicated it was because I was a vampire.”) Bruce mentally replied to Tabitha. He carefully licked the bite mark on Dick’s arm. “Sorry about that Dick.” Dick shook his head in amusement.

“I’ll bill you later, B.” Jason rolled his eyes, remembering all the times Bruce had apologized after drinking their blood. He had no problem giving his blood to the others, but it was like pulling teeth trying to get Bruce to drink from them. Partially out of guilt, partially out of pride, but always hard for him to do. It was especially hard for him to ask for blood from Jarvis, though Jarvis was getting up in years. Jason walked over to Stephanie, and held her hand. 

“That actually explains a few things.” Babs said excitedly. Jason didn’t have to look at her to know she was thinking about various things that had happened to Bruce over the years that had no explanation. Barbara yanked her gloves off and began rolling one of her sleeves up as Bruce walked over to her. Bruce sent her a brief look of apology, before he gently took hold of her wrist. Jason decided to ask the question everyone was secretly curious about.

“And what’ll happen if Bruce drinks my blood?” There was silence for a few seconds, before Tabitha answered.

“As it was altered first by the Pit, and then by the All-Caste, it will actually help to strengthen Mr. Wayne’s efforts to draw the magic out of Miss. Brown. It will add a boost of power to the curse I cast on Mr. Wayne, and help it protect him from becoming a ghoul. Besides, it’s your blood, or rather your All-Caste abilities that are protecting Miss. Brown from becoming a ghoul. As it is resonating with her hidden magic. If it had been any of the rest of you who had given her blood, she would have immediately turned into a ghoul, but since it was you who did it, her transformation was slowed.” She paused to look Jason in the eye, as Bruce stepped away from Barbara. “Your blood is absolutely necessary for this ritual, and without it, we will all fall.”

Jason stiffened at the proclamation. He nodded once in understanding, causing Tabitha to continue working on her circle. Bruce stepped toward Jason, watching, silently asking if he was alright with this. Jason let out a sigh, and raised his wrist to him mouth, biting hard enough to draw blood and offered it to Bruce. Bruce took the offered wrist without hesitation, nodding his head in thanks. Jason glanced back at Stephanie, grimacing as he caught a whiff of werewolf.

“Hey, do we have time to give her a change of clothes? There was a werewolf who peed on her, and the scent is driving me crazy. The last thing Steph needs is to wake up with that smell on her clothes.” Tabitha chuckled once.

“Yes Mr. Todd, we have enough time to change her clothes. And you are correct, it would be rather cruel for her to wake with that stench on her clothes. When Mr. Wayne is finished, I want Mrs. Grayson and Mr. Pennyworth to change her clothes. I don’t think she’d appreciate it if anyone else did it.” Jason sighed with relief. Bruce finished, and stepped away from Jason. Jason smirked at him.

“So, how do you feel? Do you feel like you’re about to go on a killing spree?” Bruce glared at Jason, which caused Jason to chuckle.

“Gee, Jay, I’m not really sure. Give me a minute and I might be able to see past my desire to shoot you in the kneecaps.” Bruce teased. Jason laughed aloud, causing Dick to shake his head in exasperation. Jarvis walked over carrying some clothes in his arms.

“I took the liberty of gathering some of Miss. Stephanie’s clothes; in the off chance we might need them.” Jarvis replied swiftly. Jason looked at him for a few seconds, before Barbara walked past Jason. Jason and Bruce stepped away and pulled the curtain shut.

“Hopefully Steph won’t be upset their changing her clothes. Jarvis is trained as a medic, so he’s not going to do anything dirty, and Babs is a girl. It just seems strange since Steph is still unconscious.” Jason spoke softly, trying to push back his memories of waking up in Wayne manor the first time. Dick patted his shoulder in sympathy.

“I’m sure she won’t, and I think she’d feel better to get out of those clothes.” Dick replied. Bruce hummed in agreement. Jason sighed, nodding his head as well. Tabitha spoke from her almost completed circle.

“By the time they finish changing her clothes, I’ll be finished. Only then will I wake her up. She needs as much rest as she can get, as things will get very painful once we start. We’ll be drawing the magic from her body, but it will mostly affect her mentally, as well as on a spiritual level. Just because she never awakened it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. However, once it’s been removed, she can be converted without any problems.” Tabitha stood up, and slowly turned around to check her work. The curtain pulled back, and Jason looked to see Jarvis carrying Stephanie’s torn outfit away.

Tabitha nodded in satisfaction, and eased her way out of the circle. She grabbed the bowl she had used earlier and added one last ingredient. She stirred the bowl a few times, motioning for Bruce to walk with her to Stephanie. Once she was beside the bed, she held two fingers to Stephanie’s eyes, muttering under her breath. Stephanie breathed in deeply, blinking rapidly, before looking at Tabitha. Tabitha maneuvered Steph into a setting position.

“Miss. Brown, I need you to take one big gulp of this mixture. Just one, if you please. After that, I need to draw a few drops of blood from your finger.” She paused at Steph’s look of hesitation. “I know you must be scared, but I promise you, all will be well in the long run.” Stephanie took a deep breath and turned to look at Bruce. Bruce actually flinched when he saw the state of her eyes, and nodded his head in encouragement. She took the bowl and drank.

Tabitha had to gently pull on her wrists to stop her from drinking more, it tasted so sweet. Once she was through, Bruce pulled one of his batarangs from one of the pockets on his belt. He gently pricked one of Stephanie’s fingers, and held it over the bowl. Tabitha counted the drops, removing the bowl once she was satisfied she had enough. 

“Is it alright if Mr. Wayne carries you to the circle? Or would you like to walk there yourself?” She inquired politely. Steph look down at her feet, barely noticing that her leg was no longer broken, but still badly injured. She looked up at Bruce sheepishly.

“Well, if Bruce doesn’t mind. I mean, I’m not too certain I can walk just yet.” She looked down, noticing her skin was turning a sickly greyish-green. She failed to notice she was wearing a different shirt and a pair of capris’. She looked at Bruce again. “Is that alright with you, Bruce?” Bruce nodded and gently picked her up from the table. Tabitha led them to the circle and motioned for Bruce to walk to the center. Once there, he gently laid Stephanie down, squeezing her shoulder once in support. He stood up and Tabitha handed him the bowl.

“Once I’m out of the circle, I will start to chant, and I need you to drink all of the mixture. The magic within her will fight both of you, so you must use all of your will to pull it out.” She turned to look at Stephanie. “I need you to fight it as well. Focus on one thing, and one thing alone to not get pulled into the transformation.” Stephanie nodded and took a deep breath.

“What should I think about?” She asked. Jason shuffled outside of the circle, drawing her attention. 

“I need you to think about why you want to do this. Obviously so that you won’t die, but for a particular reason.” She glanced at Jason as well, smirking ever so slightly. “Whatever reason you have, you must want it with your whole heart. That is the only way we will succeed.” Stephanie nodded again, not breaking eye contact with Jason. Tabitha turned to leave. 

“Wait, Ms. Tabitha?” Tabitha turned to look at her. Steph hesitated, biting her lip. “There is one thing I want to ask of you first.” Tabitha shot her a confused look, but nodded. “Well, the truth is, I’m, uh.” She swallowed nervously. “I’m scared on enclosed places, but I might not be so scared if I. Well that is to say, could I have a blindfold? When you bury me, please?”

Jason let out a sigh of relief. If she was talking about being buried, she was going to fight her hardest to stay with them. Tabitha nodded her head once.

“Don’t worry Miss. Brown. If you want a blindfold, I will gladly give you a blindfold.” Steph, smiled at her.

“Thank you.” Tabitha nodded again and left the circle. She raised her hands, a faint glow forming around her body.

“Remember, focus on why you want this.” She took a deep breath. And began chanting in her native language. Bruce quickly drank the entire mixture, bracing himself for some sort of backlash. He didn’t have to wait long, as the mixture made its way through his body. He felt a weight hit his stomach, something moving and clawing its way through his veins. He heard voices screaming at him, trying to get him to back off. Threatening to kill him.

Beside him, Stephanie’s body tensed, her body turning a darker shade of grey, with streaks of green. She heard something inside her mind calling out to her. Telling her to give in and embrace her fate. She heard voices, twisted and distorted crying out to her, saying they needed her. She wanted to help them, especially when she felt them scratch at her brain. Her head hurt so bad, she thought it was worse than the beating Sionis’ men had given her. She was about to give in when she sensed a faint cry of despair. She opened her eyes to see Bruce clutching at his throat, his face having turned greyish-green, and his eyes an almost gold color.

But it wasn’t Bruce she had sensed. She slowly turned her head to look and saw Babs and Dick trying desperately to hold back. She knew that man, he was important to her, so why couldn’t she remember his name? The voices screamed and raged at her again, causing her to writhe on the ground. She tried desperately to breath, feeling something dark and dangerous spread across her body. She wanted blood, no flesh. She could almost taste it. She looked at the man beside her, and almost lunged for his arm.

She could almost taste how good it would taste. All the better that he was still alive, but not for long. Just as she reached out for the man, she heard another voice. A different voice, one that struck a chord deep within her. 

(“Babe, please you have to fight it. I know you’re hurting, but please, just for me? Please keep fighting it.”) He had gotten inside her mind, no, inside her spirit. Her soul. Then it clicked for her. He was her soulmate, just as she was his. That’s right, she knew him, trusted him, loved him. The voices screamed in rage once more, trying to distract her. She yelled her anger at them, silencing them once and for all.

(“JASON!”) She felt her head clear a little and realized what had happened, so when she voices tried one last time, she was ready. (No, I want Jason. I want to be with him. I want to be by his side until the end of time. I’m going to fight to be with him, even if it’s selfish of me. Now get the hell out of my head.) She roared mentally. She felt something rip lose from her body, something deep down, that left jagged edges.

Beside her, Bruce felt the battle draw to a close and fought with tooth and nail to protect his future daughter-in-law. She had almost given in, nearly pulling him down too. But she had fought after focusing on Jason. And she had won, clearing the way for him to finish the ritual. The voices, a manifestation of her magic, the reason she had almost succumb to the bloodlust gave one last effort, and finally were pulled from her body. Stephanie shuddered as the magic, looking like a cloud of smoke, left her body. Bruce pushed with all of his mental capabilities, and watched as a smaller cloud left his body as well. It swirled together, before being zapped by Tabitha’s barrier.

Bruce sunk down to his knees beside Stephanie, taking heaving breaths. He shook slightly, feeling rather weak, but oddly triumphant. He looked at Steph, and gasped in shock. She wasn’t breathing, and her heart was barely beating. He reached out, placing a hand over her nose. He heard Jason call out to him. Tabitha was still chanting and the barrier was still intact. He reached to feel for Steph’s pulse, weak and thready. 

The chant ended and the dome like barrier disappeared. Jason ran to Stephanie, holding her gently to himself. He was crying so hard, tears of blood were streaming down his cheeks. He took a deep breath and howled in sorrow. Tabitha quickly felt for Stephanie’s pulse.

“She’s still alive Mr. Wayne, however faintly.” She held out her wrist. “You must drink my blood now.” Bruce nodded in agreement and bit her wrist. Her blood tasted exactly the same as it had all those years ago. It burned in his mouth, except this time, he was able to drink it with no problems. He finished drinking; quickly closing the bite wound, and turned to Stephanie. She looked for all the world to be dead. Tabitha patted his still armored shoulder.

“Now it’s safe to give her your blood, Mr. Wayne.” Bruce bit his wrist without hesitation, and held the gaping wound over Stephanie’s mouth. After what seemed like an eternity, she grimaced and tried to turn her head. Tabitha gripped her chin and held her head steady. A few minutes later, Steph’s eyes opened and she began trembling. She locked eyes with Bruce, causing him to nod at her.

“I know the taste is horrible, but it’ll be over soon.” She tried to nod, but couldn’t due to Tabitha. She blinked and looked at Jason. She shakily raised her hand to his face and gently wiped his tears away. Without warning, she flinched and whimpered. Jason grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. Bruce removed his wrist as a wave of pain radiated from Stephanie’s stomach. Tabitha removed her grip and darted towards Jarvis.

She grabbed a length of chain and a small piece of wood from the box on the desk nearby. Another wave of pain had Stephanie pushing into Jason’s jacket, trying to hide from the pain. He gripped her torso closer to him, to offer support and to keep her from hurting herself. Bruce stood up and hurried to Tabitha, motioning for Dick and Babs to give Jason a moment with Stephanie. Jason gently kissed Steph’s forehead as she whimpered again.

“It won’t last long, babe. God, I know it feels like an eternity, but it doesn’t last long at all.” She watched him, and tried to smile and reassure him she was alright. “I love you, Stephanie Nicole Brown. I wish I could take your pain for you.” Fresh tears fell from his eyes. She squeezed his hand.

“Love you too, Jason Peter Todd.” She closed her eyes and grit her teeth to keep from screaming as yet another wave passed through her. Jason was about to yell at the others when Tabitha came back. Jason picked Steph up and held her as Tabitha wrapped the chain around Steph. The piece of wood was gently placed behind Stephanie’s incisors. Barbara ran forward with an improvised blindfold, and tied it securely around Steph’s face. Tabitha spoke a word and all seven of them were outside instantly. She led them to the freshly dug grave.

“Miss. Brown, we’re almost done. We’re getting ready to place you in your coffin,” she paused to rub Stephanie’s arm when Steph gasped, “But you will be safe. I promise you, if it weren’t necessary, I would not be doing this. Just relax, you will be safe.” Stephanie timidly nodded. Jason placed her in the coffin, pausing long enough to kiss her forehead.

“I’ll be right here when you wake up. It’ll be alright babe, I’ve got you.” Stephanie breathed out and nodded. Jason’s words doing more to reassure her then anyone else’s. “I love you babe.” Tabitha’s clansmen placed the lid on the coffin. They picked up the coffin with ropes and eased it into the hole. Once done, they began to shovel dirt to fill the hole. 

Jason heard Stephanie cry out once more in pain, biting his lip so hard it drew blood. Bruce placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder and squeezed once. Dick placed his hand on Jason’s head, ruffling his hair. Tabitha began to chant, with other clansmen joining in. The chant swelled as all of the clansmen chanted together and a slight pulse of magic spread out throughout the ground. The chant ended, and Tabitha turned to the Wayne clan.

“She is asleep now. Mr. Wayne will need to stay here and protect the grave for the first 24 hours, alone. After that, any of you or all of you, can be here and stay until she awakens.” Jason narrowed his eyes and glared at Tabitha.

“I just told her that I’d be here with her. And I meant the whole time.” Tabitha nodded her head.

“I understand Mr. Todd; however this is the way it has to be. During his transformation, I stayed by his grave until he awoke. And he stayed by Mr. Grayson’s side for the entire duration. For Mrs. Grayson however, he stayed 24 hours, and afterward, Mr. Grayson stayed. He did so, so that Mr. Grayson would be there when she woke up.” She narrowed her eyes at Jason. “And, if he had done the ritual correctly with you, he would have stayed alone for 24 hours, before Mr. and Mrs. Grayson arrived as well. Don’t ask me why he needs to be here for the first part, that is the way my teacher told me it must be done.”

Jason flinched under Tabitha’s gaze, feeling like a child who had been scolded. Tabitha’s gaze softened, revealing a small smile. Dick grabbed hold of one of Jason’s arms, which drew Jason’s gaze to him.

“Tabitha’s right, we need to do this by the book. Or whatever this ritual is written in. Besides, Bruce screwed up your transformation, and he wants to make sure nothing happens to Steph. After all she’s been through; she deserves things to be done the right way.” Dick looked at his younger brother knowingly. Jason wanted to argue, but any words died at the mention of Steph. He sighed once, releasing the tension from his frame. Bruce cleared his throat.

“Jason, I will do everything right for her. I owe it to both of you to do this right.” He paused a moment to look at the burial site. “Besides, there’s something I want you, Dick and Babs to do.” Jason raised an eyebrow in question. “I want the three of you to see about something in the cave. Dick knows what it is, so I’ll let him tell you about it. Jarvis has headed back to the cave to get a few pints of blood, so that I won’t leave this spot.”

When no other explanation was spoken, Dick took the silence as a dismissal. He began dragging Jason away, back towards the cave. Jason kept looking at Stephanie’s grave, trusting Dick to lead the way. Babs came up behind him and began to push him gently. He scowled at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him. They lead him back inside and down to the cave, using the entrance in the music room. Jarvis had already left by the time they entered. Dick let go of Jason’s arm and walked over to Stephanie’s torn outfit.  
Jason looked at it and started cursing.

“Let’s just burn the fucking thing. It’ll probably give her nightmares if she sees it and it reeks of werewolf piss.” Dick shook his head and picked it up.

“Actually, this is what Bruce wants us to work on. He wants us the make Stephanie a new suit.” Jason was quiet a moment as he thought about what Dick had said. Then he replied.

“He wants us to do, what? What the fuck is wrong with him? Why would he ever think she would want that? Where does he come off making that decision for her? Why is he deciding that she is going to want to go back out there?” Barbara slapped a hand over his mouth to get his attention. He glared at her, but didn’t speak.

“Alright Jason, I need you to take a deep breath and hold it. Can you do that for me?” Jason continued to glare, slowly taking a deep breath and holding it. “Good. Now, as for your questions, Bruce wants us to make her a new suit just in case she wants to go back out in the field with us.” Jason raised his eyebrows, releasing his breath. Babs nodded and removed her hand. Dick chimed in.

“In the off chance she wants to start working with us when her training is over, Bruce wanted us to make her a better, more armored suit. You saw her outfit, it’s definitely well made, but it’s not very thick. He wants us to make a suit with more body armor, so that she can still move around in it, but it’s got more protection. Just like ours does. He didn’t want to assume she was going to join us; he just wants us to make it so that she can decide what she wants to do. There’s nothing wrong with Bruce, this is only his way of letting her decide.” Jason took and released another breath.

“Alright. Alright, fine. But what if she doesn’t want to do it? Hmm? What then? What if she feels that she has to join us?” Dick rolled his eyes in exasperation, cursing in Romani. Jason ducked his head. “I’m sorry, alright? I just don’t want her to feel that she has to if she doesn’t want to.”

“Jason, believe it or not, he’s not going to force her to do something she doesn’t want to do. He didn’t force you to become Robin, why would he do that to Steph? What’s it going to take for you to finally see Bruce isn’t a complete asshole?” Dick asked his brother sharply. Jason flinched; it was common knowledge that Dick only got angry like this when he was well and truly pissed. Pushing him any further would cause him to snap, which was never a good thing. Jason scrubbed his hands over his face. He took a deep breath.

“You’re right, I’m sorry Dick. I shouldn’t blame Bruce for doing this when he hasn’t done this ever before. I’m just frustrated about all of this. I’m still not over what happened when I was turned, and now this. I’m worried about Steph, and I feel absolutely useless about everything. I’m still blaming Bruce all these years later, even though it’s partially my fault it happened. And I should have told her about her dad after Bruce told me he wasn’t going to tell her. Maybe I could have prevented her from getting hurt in the first place.”

Jason stalked over to the radio, swinging the chair around to sit in it. Dick visibly deflated when he saw his brother’s look of defeat. Babs wrapped her arms around him from behind and squeezed tight. She rocked them a few times before letting him go. She kissed him on the cheek and gently nudged him toward Jason. Dick slowly made his way over, stopping a few feet away.

“I’m not going to say that you should forgive Bruce, or even me, about what happened back then. Bruce did give you his blood without your consent, but, he did warn you not to go to Sheila.” He grimaced. “That came out wrong; I’m not trying to blame you for any of this. All I’m saying is that he’s not the only one to blame. Hell, I should have gone with you two back then. Maybe you would have had back-up and the Joker wouldn’t have gotten his hands on you. Or maybe, Bruce would have had to bury two sons. 

“I don’t know, and that’s the point. Sometimes you just don’t know what’ll happen in a situation. Maybe you should have told Stephanie about Arthur, but what would have happened if she had stayed, and when we went after him, she got killed instead? We already know Arthur had tracked her here, what if he attacked her and Jarvis while we were gone, and they had been killed? I don’t want to think like, I don’t. Maybe things happened like they did for the better. All I do know is, what’s done is done. There’s nothing we can do except pick up the pieces and do our best to fix every little thing we can.

“And in response to what you said; trust on, I know a thing or two about feeling useless. I wanted to be with Babs after she was buried, but Bruce and Edmund told me to focus on something else to keep my mind occupied. That’s what he wants you to do. Can you at least try to see where he’s coming from? He failed you, more than once, but especially when he turned you. He knows you’re mad, but he wants to make up for where he went wrong. For both you and Steph, since he feels guilty about her almost being killed. I’m not trying to preach to you Jason; all I’m asking is for you to try, please?”

Jason sat very still, not making any noise for a few minutes. He didn’t want to acknowledge how much Dick’s words hurt him. He wanted to fight Dick, break a few bones and beat the crap out of him. Instead, he found himself feeling guilty for the pain in Dick’s voice. Dick, for all of his faults, still had been a very good older brother, helping him with his training, being a good listener and most importantly, never letting horrible things keep him down. Hearing him speak now, with his voice full of sorrow and regret made Jason want to rip his own heart out. And the worst part was that Dick was right; Bruce had indeed told him to stay away from Sheila.

Jason was partially to blame as well as Bruce. And Bruce had at least taken responsibility for his shortcomings. Jason did begrudgingly admit that. And Bruce had taken him in when he needed a home. The curse was a big factor to be certain, but Bruce did do the best he could to Help Jason. Batman was a hard-taskmaster, only because he needed to be at his very best at all times. And Bruce was doing everything he could to help Stephanie, even risking his own life to prevent her from becoming a ghoul. Jason shivered as the memory of Bruce’s face, so twisted and hungry, floated to the surface.

If he was being honest, he was no longer angry at Bruce over what had happened. And now would be the time to fix the rift between them. At least a little. He breathed heavily through his nose, and looked at his older brother. He grinned at him.

“You’re right, Dick. Bruce has been busting his butt off to make sure Steph is alright. I can’t guarantee I’ll be over this so quickly, still, I’m willing to give it a shot. And as for forgiving either of you, “He watched as Dick’s expression turned hopeful, “They say you have to forgive yourself before you can forgive others. I’m not there mentally. Not yet anyway.”

Dick nodded, looking less hopeful but still determined. He watched Jason as he stood up.

“So, will you help us? I mean, Bruce thought it’d keep you mind occupied with something other than Steph. But, if you don’t want to, Babs and I can do this by ourselves.” Jason looked at Dick and shook his head.

“I want to help. After all, Steph is my soulmate; I should be the one who does this. Besides, if I’m not there to help, you’ll probably have it looking absolutely hideous. You’ll probably make it look like it has wings or something equally stupid. Why did Bruce suggest you anyway, Dickie-bird? Everyone knows your fashion sense is terrible.” Jason cheekily grinned at Dick.

“You take that back, right now Asshole. My fashion sense is fantastic, I’ll have you know. It’s not my fault you don’t understand fashion trends.” Dick replied in mock hurt. They walked back over to Babs. Jason wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“You didn’t mention what would happen if she said no. What would happen to the suit then?” Babs laughed lightly.

“When her training is over, if she decides she wants no part of this, we would either put this away, as a monument to the brave, young woman who saved this family.” She winked at the brothers. “Or we would put it in storage, and keep it in case she were to change her mind. Or we’d burn it.” Jason gaped at Babs’ words, causing Babs to shrug. “Bruce said if she wanted to burn it, we’d have a bonfire and roast marshmallows. Not sure why, he should remember the last time we roasted marshmallows.” Jason groaned.

“Dear God, don’t even mention the marshmallows. I couldn’t sleep for a week after that. I think the firefighters came close to suing us for that.” Dick cringed remembering the incident in question. It had been a bad thing indeed. Especially after Poison Ivy had gotten involved. Jason cleared his throat.

“Alright moving on, where do we start? I say we find a flameproof material first and work on the armor next.” Dick and Babs agreed. Dick walked over to a sink and grabbed a washcloth, wetting it thoroughly. He walked back and handed it to Jason. Jason raised in eyebrow in question.

“For your face. It still has blood on it. Especially under your eyes.” He turned and headed over to the armory. Jason felt his face blush heavily, as he wiped his face. Sure enough, when he pulled it away, it was pink instead of white. He cursed under his breath as he realized he had blood on his face ever since Bruce had fought Stephanie’s ghoul transformation. He was privately grateful no one had given him a hard time about his tears. He watched Babs pull a dark material from Jarvis’ sewing station. He shook his head.

“Babs, it can’t be dark.” Dick and Babs both paused, and Jason felt his cheeks get warm. “Her outfit is eggplant, which is her favorite color, so I think we should keep the color the same.” Babs brought her hand to her mouth to hide her laugh. Jason felt himself pout as Dick started to openly guffaw. 

Hell, this was going to be a long 24 hours.

By the end of the 24 hours, they had the suit almost complete. There were only a few minor adjustments to make. Jarvis, who had come back inside shortly after they started, was quick to help them draw up designs for a new suit. When they decided on one that looked similar to her original outfit, Babs insisted Jarvis go to bed. There was some slight protesting from Jarvis, before he agreed and went upstairs to bed. The others spent the rest of the time working on the suit. At last, 24 hours after Stephanie was buried, Bruce called for Jason. Jason wasted no time getting outside. 

The two stood in silence for a few minutes, before Bruce turned to leave. Jason spoke up.

“Bruce, there’s something I need to tell you.” He paused to take a breath. “I’m sorry about being a prick. I know you’re trying your hardest to make amends, and I wouldn’t see that.” He turned to look at the surprised look on Bruce’s face. “I know you aren’t entirely to blame for what happened in Ethiopia. I let my anger control me, and I refused to see you were trying to help. I can’t let go of my anger, I’m not ready yet, but I don’t hate you.

“I still need to forgive myself for being so angry, before I can forgive you. I know it’s going to be hard, but please keep putting up with me until I can get things sorted out?” Jason looked down, clenching his fists in frustration. He needed to explain himself better and not make it seem like it was all about him. He took a breath to continue, but wasn’t able to seeing as Bruce suddenly engulfed him in a bear hug. He staggered back a step, tensing up at Bruce’s unexpected hug. It took a moment, but eventually he managed to wrap his arms around Bruce, somewhat awkwardly.

“Of course I’ll wait Jason; I’ll wait as long as you need me to. You have no idea how worried I was about you. Even if things hadn’t gone wrong with the pit, I knew you’d be pissed. And I knew it would take time for you to even talk to me again. I’m just glad things are better. I know it’ll take a long while for things to work out between us. So thank you for telling me. I can wait a long time.”

Jason cringed at the happiness in Bruce’s voice. ‘Great, that’s two people I’ve made feel like shit.’ Jason patted Bruce on the back and stepped back when Bruce let go. Bruce awkwardly patted Jason’s shoulder. 

“I’m sorry about that, I guess I wished you would say something like that for a long time. Not to worry, I know this won’t be easy, but at least we’re not fighting each other.” Jason grimaced at the reminder.

“Yeah, well, like I said, it’s going to take some time before I can forgive you. And I can’t say that we won’t fight or argue again. For now though, I’m gonna focus on Stephanie. So, let’s agree that I don’t hate you, and that I take partial blame for Ethiopia. “ When Bruce made to protest, Jason cut him off. “The Joker was the biggest reason it happened, but both of us had a part as well. Now, why don’t you go inside and get some rest? I can handle this.

Bruce accepted the discussion ending a little dejectedly. Never the less, he nodded his head and turned to go inside. His heart lifted a little at the thought that maybe, just maybe, this was the first step in an eventual family reunion. 

Jason looked up to see Tabitha walk over to him. She smiled at him and proceeded to sit next to Stephanie’s grave. She didn’t speak, not even when Jason sat across from her. It took roughly four more days, before there was a shift in the magic around the grave. Tabitha summoned everyone to the grave. After the sun set, there was a mental ripple that passed through everyone’s heads. Stephanie was awake.

Jason felt his hands start to sweat, feeling absolutely nervous. Dick pulled him into a side hug and offered his wrist. Jason accepted without hesitation, even though he had fed every day. Thank goodness for the pints of blood they kept stocked in the cave. He finished drinking, quickly closing the wound and looked around. Tabitha’s clansmen had set up tents in the back yard, to prevent anyone from seeing them. Tabitha spoke aloud to her people, motioning for a few to start digging. Another brought her satchel over.  
She pulled her bowl out and cut the palm of her hand. Once she had bleed enough into the bowl, she licked her hand. It healed quickly, being a witch had some perks after all. There was a faint stirring in Jason’s mind; Stephanie was reaching out to him. 

A few moments prior to that, Stephanie awoke with a start. She was aware of a dull ache in her bones and being hungry. But she definitely didn’t hurt like she remembered. She breathed a sigh of relief, wiggling her fingers to make sure they were whole. She ended up touching the silver and hissed at the contact. She felt a slight push against her mind, as if it was someone asking to enter. She hesitated and nodded.

(“It is good that you are awake, Miss. Brown. We have missed you, one more so than others.”) She paused for a second. Jason. She tried to reach out to him, unsure how to do so. She was rewarded with his reply.

(“Hey babe, how’re you feeling? It’s alright, there digging you out now, so just hold on, you’ll be out soon.”) She cringed at the reminder, but took a slow deep breath. That’s when she realized she could hear the digging, and it was getting closer. Her stomach grumbled, causing her to blush in embarrassment. 

(“It’s alright Miss. Brown. After we’ve removed the lid, I want you to drink some blood. I know this might be hard for you, what with this being foreign to you, however it will stop the hunger. Don’t worry, everyone else has gone through the same thing, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”) Tabitha replied calmly. Stephanie sighed in relief. 

Only another minute or so. 

(“Miss. Brown, please take a deep breath. I’m going to jump down now.”) Stephanie took another deep breath. She heard Tabitha land and quickly remove the lid. Stephanie took a moment to feel the fresh air. Tabitha undid the blindfold and helped ease her into a sitting position. She reached for her bowl and a clansman handed it to her.

“Are you ready, Miss. Brown?” She asked politely. Steph nodded once, and Tabitha carefully removed the strip of wood. She held the bowl to Stephanie’s lips, and tipped down. Stephanie thought for sure the taste would make her gag. But it didn’t, and after the first gulp, she quickly finished. When she was done, she took a deep breath.

“Thank you Tabitha. Thank you so very much.” Stephanie spoke softly. Tabitha started to undue the chains.

“There is no need to thank me, Miss. Brown.” She stopped to look her in the eyes. “But you are quite welcome.” She finished with the chains. And stood up. “I believe you know what happens next.” Stephanie gulped.

“You want me to stand up and jump out of the hole, correct?” Tabitha nodded. Stephanie stood up, looked at the top of the hole, and saw Jason. He winked at her. She felt herself blush. “Could I get everyone to look away, please?” Bruce snickered once.

“Of course, Miss. Brown.” She motioned to her people. They turned around quickly, which left the Wayne clan. Tabitha actually glared at Bruce when he didn’t turn around fast enough. Dick and Babs turned away quickly. Jason winked at Steph again, before he finally turned around. Tabitha nodded her head and looked away. Stephanie breathed in.

‘Alright Steph you can do this, just bend you knees and jump. That’s all there is to it.’ She tried once, not getting more than a few inches off the ground. ‘That was terrible, now try it again. Bend and jump.’ She tried again, once more failing. She grit her teeth in frustration. 

‘Alright, that’s it. This time, when you jump, jump higher, damn it.’ She jumped again. Only this time, she over shot the edge of the grave. She screamed as she fell. ‘Goodness gracious, that’s too fast.’ She closed her eyes, bracing her legs for impact. She stopped short of the ground by a few inches, realizing something was around her waist. 

She opened her eyes and looked up to see Jason standing there holding her. Her heart slowed it’s beat very quickly, from its accelerated pace. By being near him, she was immediately calm. He lowered her to the ground, stepping back as she straightened. He grinned at her.

“Wow, you mentioned you had been on the track team, but I didn’t know you pole vaulted.” She crossed her arms in embarrassment.

“It was only once or twice.” Jason laughed as the others jogged toward them. She looked toward them, startled to see she was roughly 30 yards away from the hole. “I’m gonna get in trouble for not landing on my own, aren’t I?” Jason shook his head.

“The jump was to serve as a lesson. You need to gauge height and power into anything you do. Especially now that you have much more power than you used to. That’s why it usually takes two or more jumps to get out of the hole. On each one, you’re using different amounts of strength, or rather push to get out of the hole.” Tabitha nodded as she approached.

“While it would have been nice for you to have landed on your own, you will be able to do so while we are training. Although I must admit, I’m somewhat surprised at your height and distance.” Jason chuckled. Stephanie glared at him. “Now then, I’d like to start your training, so if there is any question you would like to ask first, please let me know.” Stephanie shook her head.

“I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but if I do think of something, is it alright if I ask?” Tabitha nodded.

“Absolutely Miss. Brown.” She motioned for Steph to follow her and started to walk away from the cemetery.


End file.
